2000
#25,169
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 924
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.34
Very Rare Last name
Purinton
A surname derived from an English place name meaning "town at the pure spring".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 994 Americans carry the last name Purinton. That puts it at #29,114 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.29 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 344,823 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Purinton 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.
Bearers in the US
994
1 in 344,823
Census rank
#29,114
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
867
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 867 bearers of the surname Purinton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.29 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 29114th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Purinton, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Purinton
The surname Purinton is believed to have originated in the British Isles, specifically England. It is thought to be a locational name derived from the place name "Puddington" or "Puddingdon," which are old spellings of places in Bedfordshire and Wiltshire, respectively.
The name likely has its roots in the Old English words "pudding" and "tun," which together mean "farm or town of the pudding makers." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this surname may have been associated with the production or trade of puddings or other baked goods.
One of the earliest recorded references to this surname can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire from 1273, where a person named William de Puddington is mentioned. This historical record provides evidence of the name's existence and spelling variations in the 13th century.
In the 16th century, a notable figure with this surname was John Purinton, born around 1540 in England. He was a merchant and member of the Company of Merchant Adventurers, a influential trading company during the Elizabethan era.
Another early record of the name can be found in the Protestation Returns of 1641-1642, where a Richard Purinton is listed as residing in the parish of St. Sepulchre, London.
During the 17th century, the name appeared in various parts of England, including Wiltshire, where a Thomas Purinton was born around 1650 and later became a prominent landowner in the region.
In the late 18th century, a notable individual named James Purinton (1740-1815) was a British military officer who served in the American Revolutionary War, fighting on the side of the British forces.
As the name spread to other parts of the world, particularly North America, it underwent further spelling variations, such as Purinton, Purrington, and Purington. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in America was John Purinton, who was born in England in 1615 and later emigrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1630s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Purinton
Among Census respondents with the surname Purinton, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Purinton 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 Purinton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.7% · 804
- Two or more races3.5% · 30
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 3
- Black or African American0.2% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Purinton
Purinton 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
#26,126
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 937
+13 bearers (+1.4%)
Per 100,000 0.32
Rank movement Down 957 places
2020
#29,114
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 867
-70 bearers (-7.5%)
Per 100,000 0.29
Rank movement Down 2,988 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #25,169 | 924 | 0.34 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #26,126 | 937 | 0.32 | +13 bearers (+1.4%) | Down 957 places |
| 2020 | #29,114 | 867 | 0.29 | -70 bearers (-7.5%) | Down 2,988 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 Purinton 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 | #26,126 | #29,114 | -11.4% |
| Count | 937 | 867 | -7.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.32 | 0.29 | -9.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Purinton bearers went from 937 to 867 (-7.5% change). The surname moved down 2,988 positions in the national ranking, going from #26,126 to #29,114.
FAQ
Purinton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Purinton?
Name Census estimates that about 994 living Americans carry the surname Purinton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 344,823 residents.
How common is Purinton?
Purinton ranks #29,114 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.29 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 867 people with the surname Purinton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (994), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.29 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.29 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 Purinton.
Has Purinton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Purinton went from 937 recorded bearers to 867. That is a decrease of 70 (-7.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #26,126 to #29,114.
What does the Census say about the background of Purinton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Purinton, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Purinton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.7% (804 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Purinton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.7%), Two or More Races (3.5%), Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Purinton (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 Purinton mean?
A surname derived from an English place name meaning "town at the pure spring". 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 Purinton (0.29 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 Purinton?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Purinton on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.