2000
#5,711
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,566
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.06
Rare Last name
Prendergast
Derived from a Norman French place name meaning "grand meadow" or "great pasture."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,377 Americans carry the last name Prendergast. That puts it at #5,962 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.86 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 53,749 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Prendergast 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 Prendergast with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.4K
1 in 53,749
Census rank
#5,962
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,561 bearers of the surname Prendergast in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.86 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5962nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Prendergast, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.8%. The next largest groups are Black (7.7%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Prendergast
The surname Prendergast originated in Wales during the medieval period. It derives from the Welsh place name Prendergast, comprised of the elements "prendir" meaning "land" and "gast" meaning "waste or wilderness." The name likely referred to an area of uncultivated land.
In the 13th century, the surname began appearing in records in Wales. One of the earliest known bearers was Sir Gerald de Prendergast, who lived during the reign of King John in the early 1200s. He owned lands in Pembrokeshire, Wales.
The Prendergast name also has a connection to Ireland, as some bearers were among the Anglo-Norman settlers who arrived in Ireland in the 12th century. The name appears in the Pipe Rolls of County Tipperary in 1211, referring to Philip de Prendergast.
Notable individuals with this surname include Maurice de Prendergast (d. 1205), a medieval Welsh landowner and military leader who fought against the Anglo-Normans. Another was John Prendergast (1808-1886), an Anglo-Irish writer and civil servant who advocated for famine relief in Ireland.
Sir Jeffrey Prendergast Wykeham-Musgrave (1799-1881) was a British Member of Parliament and landowner in Ireland. Sir Harry North Dalrymple Prendergast (1834-1913) was a British Army officer who served in the Anglo-Zulu War and the Second Boer War.
Thomas Prendergast (1806-1886) was an English composer and organist who wrote works for the Anglican church. More recently, Val Prendergast (1916-1972) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Carlton Football Club.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Prendergast
Among Census respondents with the surname Prendergast, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.8%. The next largest groups are Black (7.7%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Prendergast 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 Prendergast surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.8% · 4,662
- Black or African American7.7% · 430
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 210
- Two or more races3.7% · 204
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 44
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Prendergast
Prendergast 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
#5,936
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,800
+234 bearers (+4.2%)
Per 100,000 1.97
Rank movement Down 225 places
2020
#5,962
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,561
-239 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 1.86
Rank movement Down 26 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,711 | 5,566 | 2.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,936 | 5,800 | 1.97 | +234 bearers (+4.2%) | Down 225 places |
| 2020 | #5,962 | 5,561 | 1.86 | -239 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 26 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 Prendergast 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 | #5,936 | #5,962 | -0.4% |
| Count | 5,800 | 5,561 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.97 | 1.86 | -5.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Prendergast bearers went from 5,800 to 5,561 (-4.1% change). The surname moved down 26 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,936 to #5,962.
FAQ
Prendergast surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Prendergast?
Name Census estimates that about 6,377 living Americans carry the surname Prendergast. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 53,749 residents.
How common is Prendergast?
Prendergast ranks #5,962 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.86 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,561 people with the surname Prendergast. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,377), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.86 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.86 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Prendergast.
Has Prendergast become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Prendergast went from 5,800 recorded bearers to 5,561. That is a decrease of 239 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,936 to #5,962.
What does the Census say about the background of Prendergast?
Among Census respondents with the surname Prendergast, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.8%. The next largest groups are Black (7.7%) and Hispanic (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 Prendergast in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.8% (4,662 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Prendergast appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.8%), Black (7.7%), Hispanic (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 Prendergast (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 Prendergast mean?
Derived from a Norman French place name meaning "grand meadow" or "great pasture." 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 Prendergast (1.86 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 have the last name Prendergast?
You can see how many people are called Prendergast on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.