2000
#39,946
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 517
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.19
Very Rare Last name
Clendenning
An Anglo-Scottish habitational name referring to a valley surrounded by hills.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 616 Americans carry the last name Clendenning. That puts it at #43,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.18 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 556,419 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Clendenning 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
616
1 in 556,419
Census rank
#43,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
537
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 537 bearers of the surname Clendenning in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.18 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 43339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Clendenning, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Black (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Clendenning
The surname Clendenning has its origins in Scotland, dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "clene" meaning clean or pure, and "denu" meaning a valley or glen. Thus, the name likely referred to someone who lived in a clean or pure valley.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which lists those who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England. An individual named William de Clendenning is listed as being from Dumfriesshire, Scotland.
In the 16th century, the name appears in various Scottish records, such as the Register of the Great Seal of Scotland, where a John Clendenning is mentioned in 1538. Additionally, a William Clendenning is recorded as a witness to a land transaction in the Burgh Records of Glasgow in 1573.
The Clendenning surname is closely associated with the Scottish Borders region, particularly in the counties of Dumfriesshire and Roxburghshire. It is believed that the name may have originated from a place name, possibly referring to a specific valley or glen in that area.
Notable individuals with the surname Clendenning include William Clendenning (1773-1838), a Scottish-born merchant and landowner in Nova Scotia, Canada. Another notable figure is John Clendenning (1805-1882), an Irish-born architect who designed several prominent buildings in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the records of the Jamestown settlement in Virginia, where a Thomas Clendenning is listed as a resident in 1624. Another early American bearing the name was James Clendenning (1757-1834), a soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War.
Other notable Clendennings throughout history include Charles Edward Clendenning (1856-1914), an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for West Virginia, and Sir Harold Clendenning (1891-1968), a British civil servant and diplomat who served as the Governor of Malta from 1946 to 1949.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Clendenning
Among Census respondents with the surname Clendenning, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Black (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Clendenning 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 Clendenning surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.6% · 481
- Two or more races4.7% · 25
- Black or African American3.7% · 20
- Hispanic or Latino1.5% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Clendenning
Clendenning 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
#39,717
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 553
+36 bearers (+7.0%)
Per 100,000 0.19
Rank movement Up 229 places
2020
#43,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 537
-16 bearers (-2.9%)
Per 100,000 0.18
Rank movement Down 3,622 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #39,946 | 517 | 0.19 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #39,717 | 553 | 0.19 | +36 bearers (+7.0%) | Up 229 places |
| 2020 | #43,339 | 537 | 0.18 | -16 bearers (-2.9%) | Down 3,622 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 Clendenning 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 | #39,717 | #43,339 | -9.1% |
| Count | 553 | 537 | -2.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.19 | 0.18 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Clendenning bearers went from 553 to 537 (-2.9% change). The surname moved down 3,622 positions in the national ranking, going from #39,717 to #43,339.
FAQ
Clendenning surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Clendenning?
Name Census estimates that about 616 living Americans carry the surname Clendenning. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 556,419 residents.
How common is Clendenning?
Clendenning ranks #43,339 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.18 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 537 people with the surname Clendenning. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (616), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.18 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.18 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 Clendenning.
Has Clendenning become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Clendenning went from 553 recorded bearers to 537. That is a decrease of 16 (-2.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #39,717 to #43,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Clendenning?
Among Census respondents with the surname Clendenning, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Black (3.7%). 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 Clendenning in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.6% (481 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Clendenning appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.6%), Two or More Races (4.7%), Black (3.7%). 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 Clendenning (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 Clendenning mean?
An Anglo-Scottish habitational name referring to a valley surrounded by hills. 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 Clendenning (0.18 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 Clendenning?
You can see how many people have the surname Clendenning on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.