2000
#11,536
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,500
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.93
Rare Last name
Pettaway
Derived from a place name meaning "Petta's way," referring to a road or path associated with someone called Petta.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,059 Americans carry the last name Pettaway. That puts it at #11,312 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.89 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 112,048 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pettaway surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
3.1K
1 in 112,048
Census rank
#11,312
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,668 bearers of the surname Pettaway in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.89 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11312th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pettaway, the largest self-reported group is Black at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.6%) and White (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pettaway
The surname Pettaway is believed to have originated in England, with roots dating back to the 16th century. It is thought to be a locational name derived from a place called Petworth, a town in the county of West Sussex. The name may have evolved from the Old English words "pet" and "worth," which together mean "a paddock or enclosure."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Pettaway can be found in the Hearth Tax Rolls of 1666, where a John Pettaway is listed as a resident of Petworth, West Sussex. This suggests that the name was already established in the area by the mid-17th century.
In the 18th century, the Pettaway surname appears in various parish records and church registers across southern England, particularly in the counties of Sussex, Hampshire, and Dorset. The spelling variations at the time included Pettaway, Pettway, Petwaye, and Petwaye.
Historically, the Pettaway name has been associated with several notable individuals. One such figure was Sir John Pettaway (1645-1720), a prominent landowner and Member of Parliament for Midhurst, a borough in West Sussex. Another was William Pettaway (1701-1768), a merchant and ship owner from Southampton who played a role in the colonial trade with the Americas.
In the 19th century, the Pettaway surname spread beyond England's borders as some members of the family migrated to other parts of the British Empire. One notable example is Thomas Pettaway (1815-1892), a British-born businessman and farmer who settled in South Africa and became a prominent figure in the early development of the Eastern Cape colony.
Another notable bearer of the Pettaway name was Elizabeth Pettaway (1843-1919), an English author and poet who published several volumes of verse and contributed to various literary journals of her time.
While the surname Pettaway is not among the most common in English-speaking countries today, it has a rich history spanning several centuries and has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, from landowners and politicians to merchants, authors, and colonial settlers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pettaway
Among Census respondents with the surname Pettaway, the largest self-reported group is Black at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.6%) and White (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Pettaway bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Pettaway surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American89.1% · 2,376
- Two or more races5.6% · 150
- White2.5% · 67
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 57
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pettaway
Pettaway appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#10,204
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,157
+657 bearers (+26.3%)
Per 100,000 1.07
Rank movement Up 1,332 places
2020
#11,312
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,668
-489 bearers (-15.5%)
Per 100,000 0.89
Rank movement Down 1,108 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,536 | 2,500 | 0.93 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,204 | 3,157 | 1.07 | +657 bearers (+26.3%) | Up 1,332 places |
| 2020 | #11,312 | 2,668 | 0.89 | -489 bearers (-15.5%) | Down 1,108 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Pettaway surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #10,204 | #11,312 | -10.9% |
| Count | 3,157 | 2,668 | -15.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.07 | 0.89 | -16.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pettaway bearers went from 3,157 to 2,668 (-15.5% change). The surname moved down 1,108 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,204 to #11,312.
FAQ
Pettaway surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pettaway?
Name Census estimates that about 3,059 living Americans carry the surname Pettaway. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 112,048 residents.
How common is Pettaway?
Pettaway ranks #11,312 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.89 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,668 people with the surname Pettaway. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,059), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.89 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.89 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Pettaway.
Has Pettaway become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pettaway went from 3,157 recorded bearers to 2,668. That is a decrease of 489 (-15.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,204 to #11,312.
What does the Census say about the background of Pettaway?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pettaway, the largest self-reported group is Black at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.6%) and White (2.5%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Pettaway in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (2,376 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pettaway appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (89.1%), Two or More Races (5.6%), White (2.5%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Pettaway (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Pettaway mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "Petta's way," referring to a road or path associated with someone called Petta. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Pettaway (0.89 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Pettaway?
See how many Americans have the surname Pettaway on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.