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

Pew, 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 Pew surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pew in America

Pew is the 17398th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pew surname appeared 1,622 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 Pew.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pew 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 Pew

The surname PEW has its origins in England, tracing back to the late 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "peoh," meaning a small enclosed area or a pen, often associated with keeping livestock. This suggests that the name may have originated as a reference to someone who lived near or maintained such an enclosure.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name PEW can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327, where it appears as "Pew." This document was a tax record, indicating that individuals with this surname were present in the region during that time.

In the 15th century, the name was also recorded in various forms, such as "Pew" and "Pewe," in the Feet of Fines for Norfolk and Suffolk, which were legal records documenting property transactions. This suggests that the name had spread to different parts of England by that time.

The variant spelling "Pugh" is also closely related to PEW and is believed to have originated from the same root. This form of the name can be found in records dating back to the 16th century, such as the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1569, where it appears as "Pugh."

One notable figure from history bearing the surname PEW was William Pew, a wealthy merchant from Gloucestershire, who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He was involved in the cloth trade and held significant influence in his community.

Another individual of historical significance was John Pew, born in 1609 in Gloucestershire. He was a Puritan minister who emigrated to America in the mid-17th century and became a prominent figure in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, serving as a pastor in several churches.

In the 18th century, the name PEW appeared in records related to the American Revolutionary War, with individuals such as Joseph Pew, born in 1742 in Pennsylvania, serving as a soldier in the Continental Army.

The surname PEW has also been associated with various place names throughout England, such as Pewsey in Wiltshire, which may have derived its name from the Old English words "peoh" and "ēa," meaning a river near a pen or enclosure.

Other notable individuals with the surname PEW include Henry Pew, a British businessman and philanthropist born in 1838, who founded the Pew Charitable Trusts, one of the largest private foundations in the United States. Additionally, Joseph Newton Pew, born in 1848 in Massachusetts, was a prominent businessman and founder of the Sun Oil Company, which later became Sunoco.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pew

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

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

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

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