2000
#140,756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Painting
An occupational surname referring to someone whose occupation involved painting.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 149 Americans carry the last name Painting. That puts it at #134,631 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,300,365 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Painting 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 Painting with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
149
1 in 2,300,365
Census rank
#134,631
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
130
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 130 bearers of the surname Painting in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 134631st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Painting, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.4%. The next largest groups are Black (1.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Painting
The surname PAINTING originated in England during the medieval period. It is an occupational name derived from the Old English word 'paintour', which referred to someone who painted or decorated surfaces. The name likely arose as a way to identify individuals by their trade or profession.
In the 13th century, the name was recorded as 'le Peintour' in Huntingdonshire, England. This early spelling reflects the French influence on English at the time, with 'le' meaning 'the' and the Old French 'peintour' meaning 'painter'.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname PAINTING appears in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire in 1273, where it is listed as 'Reginal le Peyntour'. This document was a census-like survey conducted in England during the reign of King Edward I.
The PAINTING surname can also be traced back to the village of Peinton in Somerset, England. This place name, recorded as 'Peyntona' in the Domesday Book of 1086, is believed to have influenced the development of the surname in that region.
John PAINTING (c. 1555 - 1616) was an English painter and cartographer known for his maps of Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire. His work was highly regarded during the Elizabethan era.
Richard PAINTING (1638 - 1706) was a English clergyman and academic who served as the Provost of The Queen's College, Oxford, from 1690 until his death.
Elizabeth PAINTING (1663 - 1744) was an English poet and writer from Northamptonshire. Her work focused on religious themes and was published in several collections during the early 18th century.
Thomas PAINTING (1825 - 1892) was a British artist and engraver, recognized for his landscape paintings and etchings of rural scenes in England and Wales.
William PAINTING (1838 - 1920) was a English architect and surveyor who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Bishopsgate Institute and the former headquarters of the City of London Police.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Painting
Among Census respondents with the surname Painting, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.4%. The next largest groups are Black (1.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Painting 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 Painting surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.4% · 124
- Black or African American1.5% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 2
- Two or more races1.5% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Painting
Painting 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
#126,018
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 136
+27 bearers (+24.8%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 14,738 places
2020
#134,631
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 130
-6 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,613 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #140,756 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #126,018 | 136 | 0.05 | +27 bearers (+24.8%) | Up 14,738 places |
| 2020 | #134,631 | 130 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-4.4%) | Down 8,613 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 Painting 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 | #126,018 | #134,631 | -6.8% |
| Count | 136 | 130 | -4.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Painting bearers went from 136 to 130 (-4.4% change). The surname moved down 8,613 positions in the national ranking, going from #126,018 to #134,631.
FAQ
Painting surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Painting?
Name Census estimates that about 149 living Americans carry the surname Painting. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,300,365 residents.
How common is Painting?
Painting ranks #134,631 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 130 people with the surname Painting. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (149), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Painting.
Has Painting become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Painting went from 136 recorded bearers to 130. That is a decrease of 6 (-4.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #126,018 to #134,631.
What does the Census say about the background of Painting?
Among Census respondents with the surname Painting, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.4%. The next largest groups are Black (1.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.5%). 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 Painting in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.4% (124 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Painting appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.4%), Black (1.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.5%). 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 Painting (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 Painting mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone whose occupation involved painting. 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 Painting (0.04 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 Painting?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.