2000
#124,109
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 128
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Pomfrey
An occupational surname derived from the Anglo-Norman French "pomfrir," meaning someone who worked with apples or apple orchards.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Pomfrey. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pomfrey 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Pomfrey with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Pomfrey in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pomfrey, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.9%. The next largest groups are Black (20.0%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pomfrey
The surname POMFREY has its origins in England, emerging during the late medieval period. It derives from the Old French word "pomfret," which referred to a type of apple. This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational surname for someone who cultivated or sold apples.
One of the earliest known references to the POMFREY surname can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1379, where a John Pomfrey is recorded. This indicates that the name was established in the northern regions of England by the 14th century.
In the 15th century, the POMFREY surname appears in various records, including the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in 1431, which mention a Thomas Pomfrey. During this time, variations in spelling were common, with forms such as Pomfret, Pomfrett, and Pomfrayt being used interchangeably.
The POMFREY surname has also been associated with the town of Pontefract in West Yorkshire, which was formerly known as Pomfret or Pomfrett. This connection suggests that some individuals with this surname may have originally hailed from that area.
Notable individuals with the POMFREY surname throughout history include:
1. Richard Pomfrey (c. 1512-1592), an English Protestant prelate who served as the Bishop of Rochester from 1576 until his death.
2. Samuel Pomfrey (1619-1677), an English clergyman and nonconformist minister known for his religious writings.
3. John Pomfret (c. 1667-1703), an English poet and clergyman best known for his poem "The Choice."
4. William Pomfret (1702-1768), an English clergyman and translator of works from classical Greek and Latin.
5. Thomas Pomfrey (1750-1819), an English landowner and politician who served as the Member of Parliament for Doncaster.
While the POMFREY surname may have originated from an occupational connection to apples, it has since become a well-established English surname with a long and diverse history spanning multiple centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pomfrey
Among Census respondents with the surname Pomfrey, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.9%. The next largest groups are Black (20.0%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Pomfrey 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 Pomfrey surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.9% · 85
- Black or African American20.0% · 23
- Two or more races4.3% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pomfrey
Pomfrey 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
#134,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
-3 bearers (-2.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,603 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-10 bearers (-8.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,045 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #124,109 | 128 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #134,712 | 125 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.3%) | Down 10,603 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-8.0%) | Down 11,045 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 Pomfrey 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 | #134,712 | #145,757 | -8.2% |
| Count | 125 | 115 | -8.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pomfrey bearers went from 125 to 115 (-8.0% change). The surname moved down 11,045 positions in the national ranking, going from #134,712 to #145,757.
FAQ
Pomfrey surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pomfrey?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Pomfrey. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Pomfrey?
Pomfrey ranks #145,757 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 115 people with the surname Pomfrey. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Pomfrey.
Has Pomfrey become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pomfrey went from 125 recorded bearers to 115. That is a decrease of 10 (-8.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #134,712 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Pomfrey?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pomfrey, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.9%. The next largest groups are Black (20.0%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Pomfrey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.9% (85 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pomfrey appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (73.9%), Black (20.0%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Pomfrey (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 Pomfrey mean?
An occupational surname derived from the Anglo-Norman French "pomfrir," meaning someone who worked with apples or apple orchards. 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 Pomfrey (0.04 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 many people share the surname Pomfrey?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.