2000
#3,746
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,697
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.22
Rare Last name
Pond
An English topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a pond or small body of water.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,891 Americans carry the last name Pond. That puts it at #3,996 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.89 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 34,653 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pond 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 Pond with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.9K
1 in 34,653
Census rank
#3,996
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,625 bearers of the surname Pond in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.89 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3996th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pond, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pond
The surname POND originated in England in the 12th century. It is a topographic name, derived from the Old English word "pundern", meaning a small body of still water. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a pond or worked in an area with many ponds.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname POND appears in the Pipe Rolls of Warwickshire in 1195, with a reference to a person named John de la Punde. This early spelling suggests the name's connection to a pond or pool of water.
The Domesday Book, compiled in 1086, contains several place names that may have contributed to the surname POND, such as Ponden in Yorkshire and Ponden Clough in Lancashire. These place names potentially stem from the same Old English root as the surname.
In the 13th century, the name appeared in various forms, including Ponde, Punde, and Atteponde. The prefixes "de la" and "atte" indicated a person's association with a particular location, further reinforcing the name's topographic origin.
Notable individuals with the surname POND throughout history include:
1. Samuel Pond (1600-1665), one of the founders of Windsor, Connecticut, and a prominent figure in the early settlement of New England.
2. John Pond (1767-1836), an English astronomer and mathematician who served as the sixth Astronomer Royal from 1811 to 1835.
3. Enoch Pond (1725-1807), an American clergyman and educator who served as the president of Hampton-Sidney College in Virginia from 1783 to 1787.
4. Samuel William Pond (1818-1891), an American architect known for designing several notable buildings in San Francisco, including the Old Mint and the Palace Hotel.
5. Arthur Channing Pond (1701-1758), a British-American merchant and politician who served as the Speaker of the Rhode Island House of Deputies from 1742 to 1744.
The surname POND has a rich history rooted in the topographic features of England, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 12th century. Over the centuries, it has been associated with various places, occupations, and notable individuals, reflecting the diverse origins and stories behind this English surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pond
Among Census respondents with the surname Pond, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Pond 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 Pond surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.4% · 7,539
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 367
- Two or more races3.8% · 331
- Black or African American2.2% · 193
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 103
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 92
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pond
Pond 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
#3,930
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,052
+355 bearers (+4.1%)
Per 100,000 3.07
Rank movement Down 184 places
2020
#3,996
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,625
-427 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 2.89
Rank movement Down 66 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,746 | 8,697 | 3.22 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,930 | 9,052 | 3.07 | +355 bearers (+4.1%) | Down 184 places |
| 2020 | #3,996 | 8,625 | 2.89 | -427 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 66 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 Pond 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 | #3,930 | #3,996 | -1.7% |
| Count | 9,052 | 8,625 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 3.07 | 2.89 | -6.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pond bearers went from 9,052 to 8,625 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 66 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,930 to #3,996.
FAQ
Pond surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pond?
Name Census estimates that about 9,891 living Americans carry the surname Pond. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 34,653 residents.
How common is Pond?
Pond ranks #3,996 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.89 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,625 people with the surname Pond. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,891), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.89 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.89 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Pond.
Has Pond become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pond went from 9,052 recorded bearers to 8,625. That is a decrease of 427 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,930 to #3,996.
What does the Census say about the background of Pond?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pond, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Pond in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.4% (7,539 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pond appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.4%), Hispanic (4.3%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Pond (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 Pond mean?
An English topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a pond or small body of water. 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 Pond (2.89 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 Pond?
See how many Americans have the surname Pond on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.