Find out how popular the last name Pettey is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Pettey.

Pettey, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Pettey surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pettey in America

Pettey is the 17896th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pettey surname appeared 1,562 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Pettey.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pettey to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Pettey

The surname Pettey originates from England and dates back to the late 13th century. It is derived from the Old English personal name "Pette", which is a diminutive form of the name "Peter". The name initially referred to someone who was the son or descendant of Pette.

In early records, the name was often spelled in various ways, such as Pety, Petty, and Pettie. These variations were common due to the inconsistencies in spelling during that time period. The earliest known record of the name Pettey appears in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, where it is listed as "Petye".

The Pettey surname is also associated with several place names in England, such as Pettey's Farm in Buckinghamshire and Pettey's Lane in Suffolk. These place names likely originated from individuals with the Pettey surname who resided in or owned land in those areas.

One notable historical figure with the surname Pettey was John Pettey, who was born in Gloucestershire, England, around 1580. He was a prominent merchant and landowner, and his name appears in various legal documents and property records from the early 17th century.

Another individual of note was Sir Thomas Pettey, who lived in the 16th century and served as a member of Parliament for the borough of Taunton in Somerset, England. He was a influential figure in local politics and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I in 1588.

In the 18th century, there was a reverend named William Pettey who served as the vicar of St. Mary's Church in Devizes, Wiltshire, from 1732 to 1752. He is mentioned in several parish records and local histories from that time period.

Moving forward to the 19th century, there was a renowned architect named James Pettey who was born in London in 1820. He designed several notable buildings in the city, including the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel and the former British Museum Reading Room.

Finally, one of the most famous individuals with the Pettey surname was the English writer and journalist, George Pettey, who was born in 1865 and died in 1948. He was a prolific author and wrote numerous novels, short stories, and articles for various publications throughout his career.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pettey

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Pettey.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Pettey was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Pettey has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Pettey was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Pettey, please contact us.

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