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

Pettijohn, 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 Pettijohn surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pettijohn in America

Pettijohn is the 20408th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pettijohn surname appeared 1,302 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Pettijohn.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pettijohn 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 Pettijohn

The surname Pettijohn is believed to have originated in England, likely in the 13th or 14th century. It is thought to be a locational name, derived from a place name that incorporated the elements "petit" and "john." The French word "petit" means small or little, while "john" was a common English personal name derived from the Hebrew name Yohanan.

One theory suggests that the name may have originated from a place called Petit-Jean in Normandy, France. It is possible that someone from this location migrated to England and took on the surname Pettijohn. Another theory proposes that the name may have originated from a small settlement or hamlet in England named after someone called John.

The earliest known record of the surname Pettijohn dates back to the 15th century. In 1467, a William Pettijohn was mentioned in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk. This suggests that the name was already established in the region by that time.

In the 16th century, the surname appeared in various spellings, including Petijohn, Pettyjohn, and Petyjohn. This was a common occurrence during that period, as spelling conventions were not yet standardized. One notable individual from this era was John Pettijohn, a farmer from Gloucestershire who was born in 1542 and died in 1612.

In the 17th century, the name Pettijohn can be found in several historical records. For instance, a Richard Pettijohn was listed in the 1642 Protestation Returns for Warwickshire. Additionally, a Thomas Pettijohn was mentioned in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Newington, Surrey, in 1679.

One of the earliest known instances of the surname Pettijohn in North America dates back to the late 17th century. In 1691, a William Pettijohn was recorded as a landowner in Pennsylvania. This suggests that some members of the Pettijohn family had already migrated to the British colonies in the New World by that time.

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, several notable individuals bore the surname Pettijohn. In 1745, a Samuel Pettijohn was born in Virginia and later served as a soldier in the American Revolutionary War. Another notable figure was John Pettijohn, a farmer and landowner from Ohio, who was born in 1789 and died in 1872.

In the 19th century, the name Pettijohn also appeared in various literary works and historical accounts. For instance, a character named Pettijohn was mentioned in the novel "The Virginians" by William Makepeace Thackeray, published in 1859. Additionally, a Pettijohn family from Missouri was mentioned in the book "A History of Missouri" by Eugene Morrow Violette, published in 1918.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pettijohn

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

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 Pettijohn 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 Pettijohn 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 Pettijohn was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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