2000
#5,834
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,431
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.01
Rare Last name
Priddy
Derived from a place name meaning "farm belonging to Pridi," from an Old English personal name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,994 Americans carry the last name Priddy. That puts it at #6,266 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 57,183 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Priddy 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 Priddy with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.0K
1 in 57,183
Census rank
#6,266
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,227 bearers of the surname Priddy in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6266th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Priddy, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Priddy
The surname Priddy is of English origin, deriving from the Old English word "pridde," which means a small enclosure or croft. It is believed to have originated in the counties of Somerset and Wiltshire in the southwest of England.
The name Priddy is closely associated with the village of the same name in Somerset, which is located on the Mendip Hills. The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is recorded as "Pridi." This suggests that the surname Priddy likely emerged from this place name during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Priddy can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Somerset from 1230, where a John de Pridi is mentioned. This indicates that the name had already taken on a hereditary form by the 13th century.
In the 14th century, variations of the name such as "Priddy," "Pridy," and "Predy" started appearing in various records, reflecting the diverse spellings common during that era.
A notable individual with the surname Priddy was Sir John Priddy (c. 1615-1698), an English judge and Member of Parliament. He served as a Justice of the King's Bench during the reign of King Charles II.
Another noteworthy figure was William Priddy (1718-1776), an English watchmaker and inventor from Somerset. He is credited with the invention of the cylinder escapement, a significant advancement in watchmaking technology.
In the 19th century, the Priddy surname gained prominence with the birth of William Priddy (1817-1892), a British architect and engineer. He was responsible for the design and construction of several notable buildings, including the Royal Pavilion in Brighton.
The name Priddy also has a connection to the American continents, with records showing individuals bearing the surname in colonial times. One such individual was Thomas Priddy (c. 1640-1720), an early settler in Virginia who arrived in the late 17th century.
Another individual of note was Robert Priddy (1789-1865), a British-born American farmer and politician who served as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives in the 1830s.
While the surname Priddy is not among the most common in the English-speaking world, it has a rich history rooted in the rural landscapes of southwestern England, and its bearers have made notable contributions across various fields throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Priddy
Among Census respondents with the surname Priddy, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Priddy 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 Priddy surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.8% · 4,692
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 187
- Two or more races3.3% · 175
- Black or African American2.1% · 111
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 31
Timeline
Historical Census data for Priddy
Priddy 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
#6,133
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,586
+155 bearers (+2.9%)
Per 100,000 1.89
Rank movement Down 299 places
2020
#6,266
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,227
-359 bearers (-6.4%)
Per 100,000 1.75
Rank movement Down 133 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,834 | 5,431 | 2.01 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,133 | 5,586 | 1.89 | +155 bearers (+2.9%) | Down 299 places |
| 2020 | #6,266 | 5,227 | 1.75 | -359 bearers (-6.4%) | Down 133 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 Priddy 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 | #6,133 | #6,266 | -2.2% |
| Count | 5,586 | 5,227 | -6.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.89 | 1.75 | -7.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Priddy bearers went from 5,586 to 5,227 (-6.4% change). The surname moved down 133 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,133 to #6,266.
FAQ
Priddy surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Priddy?
Name Census estimates that about 5,994 living Americans carry the surname Priddy. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 57,183 residents.
How common is Priddy?
Priddy ranks #6,266 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.75 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 5,227 people with the surname Priddy. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,994), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.75 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 Priddy.
Has Priddy become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Priddy went from 5,586 recorded bearers to 5,227. That is a decrease of 359 (-6.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,133 to #6,266.
What does the Census say about the background of Priddy?
Among Census respondents with the surname Priddy, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Priddy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (4,692 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Priddy appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.8%), Hispanic (3.6%), Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Priddy (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 Priddy mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "farm belonging to Pridi," from an Old English personal name. 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 Priddy (1.75 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 surname Priddy?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.