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

Tenpenny, 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 Tenpenny surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tenpenny in America

Tenpenny is the 33121st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tenpenny surname appeared 691 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 Tenpenny.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tenpenny 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 Tenpenny

The surname Tenpenny is an English locational surname derived from various places in England that were named with the Old English elements "tēne" meaning "ten" and "pening" meaning "pennies." It likely referred to a place where a toll or tax of ten pennies was once paid.

One of the earliest records of the name comes from the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1195, which mention a William de Teinepeni. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 also record a John de Tenepeny in Oxfordshire. These early spellings show the name's evolution from its Old English origins.

In the 13th century, the Testa de Nevill, an ancient survey of land ownership, includes entries for people with the surname Tenpenny holding lands in counties like Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. This suggests the name was well-established in parts of southern England by that time.

Notable bearers of the Tenpenny surname throughout history include William Tenpenny (c.1480-1550), an English clergyman who served as Archdeacon of Oxford, and Sir John Tenpenny (c.1590-1660), a Member of Parliament for Oxfordshire during the English Civil War.

In the 17th century, Thomas Tenpenny (1608-1680) was a successful merchant and landowner in London, while Richard Tenpenny (1670-1732) was a wealthy ironmonger and alderman in the City of London.

Moving into the 18th century, Elizabeth Tenpenny (1710-1788) was a renowned English actress who performed at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. And in the 19th century, John Tenpenny (1815-1892) was a notable architect who designed several churches and public buildings in London and the surrounding areas.

These are just a few examples of individuals bearing the Tenpenny surname throughout the centuries, reflecting its long-standing presence in England, particularly in the southern regions around London and Oxfordshire where the name likely originated from various place names involving the elements "ten" and "pennies."

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tenpenny

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

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

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

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