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

Promise, 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 Promise surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Promise in America

Promise is the 88336th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Promise surname appeared 210 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Promise.

We can also compare 2010 data for Promise 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 Promise

The surname PROMISE is an English locational name that originated in the county of Dorset, England in the late 13th century. It is derived from the Old English words "præst" meaning priest and "medu" meaning meadow, referring to a meadow belonging to or associated with a priest. The earliest recorded spelling of the name was found in the Pipe Rolls of Wiltshire in 1296 as "de la Prestmede".

In the Domesday Book of 1086, a place called "Prestmede" is mentioned, which is believed to be the source of the surname. This place name is thought to have evolved into the modern-day village of Pimperne in Dorset, suggesting that the earliest bearers of the PROMISE surname may have originated from this area.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname PROMISE was John de Prestmede, who was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Dorset in 1327. Another early bearer of the name was William Prestmede, recorded in the Poll Tax Returns of Yorkshire in 1379.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname PROMISE began to spread beyond Dorset to other parts of England. In 1592, a marriage record in St. Mary's Church, Islington, London, mentions a Jane Promise. The Canterbury Marriage Licenses of 1619 include a reference to a Thomas Promise from the parish of Stourmouth, Kent.

Notable individuals with the surname PROMISE include:

1. Richard Promise (c. 1560-1636), an English clergyman and author from Dorset.
2. John Promise (1687-1763), a wealthy merchant and landowner from Bristol, England.
3. Elizabeth Promise (1755-1828), a philanthropist and founder of the Promise Orphanage in London.
4. William Promise (1818-1892), a British explorer and naturalist who traveled extensively in Africa and Asia.
5. Mary Promise (1849-1925), an English novelist and poet, known for her works depicting rural life in Dorset.

The surname PROMISE has undergone various spelling variations over the centuries, including Prestmede, Prestmead, Prestmeade, and Prismead, before settling into its modern form. While the name's origins can be traced back to medieval England, it has since spread globally, with bearers found in various parts of the world.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Promise

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

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

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

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