2000
#18,278
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,400
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.52
Rare Last name
Parkhill
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near a hill with a park or enclosed area.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,557 Americans carry the last name Parkhill. That puts it at #19,847 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.45 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 220,138 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Parkhill 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 Parkhill with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.6K
1 in 220,138
Census rank
#19,847
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,358 bearers of the surname Parkhill in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.45 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 19847th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Parkhill, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.8%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Parkhill
The surname Parkhill is of English origin, tracing its roots back to the medieval era. It is a locational name derived from the Old English words 'pearroc', meaning a small enclosed area or park, and 'hyll', meaning a hill. This suggests that the name likely originated from a place where the earliest bearers lived near or owned a parcel of land situated on a hill.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Northamptonshire from 1202, which mentions a Robert de Parkhill. This indicates that the name was already in use as a hereditary surname in the early 13th century.
In the 14th century, the Parkhill surname appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1327, listing a John Parkhyll. This variation in spelling was common during this period, as surnames were still in the process of becoming fixed and standardized.
The Parkhill name has also been linked to various place names in England, such as Parkhill in Somerset, Parkhill Farm in Buckinghamshire, and Parkhill Cottage in Gloucestershire. These locations likely served as the origins for some branches of the Parkhill family.
Notable individuals bearing the Parkhill surname throughout history include:
1. William Parkhill (c. 1580 - 1639), an English colonist and landowner who settled in Virginia in the early 17th century.
2. John Parkhill (1757 - 1834), a Scottish-born soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War and later became a prominent landowner in Nova Scotia, Canada.
3. Elizabeth Parkhill (1826 - 1901), a British author and educator known for her works on children's literature and education reform.
4. Thomas Parkhill (1857 - 1933), a Canadian politician who served as a member of the House of Commons of Canada for the riding of Peel from 1904 to 1911.
5. Sir James Parkhill (1890 - 1976), a British businessman and philanthropist who made significant contributions to educational institutions and charitable organizations in the United Kingdom.
While the Parkhill surname has a rich history spanning centuries, its origins can be traced back to the rolling hills and enclosed parklands of medieval England, where the earliest bearers of this locational name made their mark.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Parkhill
Among Census respondents with the surname Parkhill, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.8%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Parkhill 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 Parkhill surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.5% · 1,229
- Hispanic or Latino4.8% · 65
- Two or more races3.5% · 47
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 7
- Black or African American0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Parkhill
Parkhill 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
#19,019
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,432
+32 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 0.49
Rank movement Down 741 places
2020
#19,847
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,358
-74 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 0.45
Rank movement Down 828 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #18,278 | 1,400 | 0.52 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #19,019 | 1,432 | 0.49 | +32 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 741 places |
| 2020 | #19,847 | 1,358 | 0.45 | -74 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 828 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 Parkhill 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 | #19,019 | #19,847 | -4.4% |
| Count | 1,432 | 1,358 | -5.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.49 | 0.45 | -7.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Parkhill bearers went from 1,432 to 1,358 (-5.2% change). The surname moved down 828 positions in the national ranking, going from #19,019 to #19,847.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Parkhill
FAQ
Parkhill surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Parkhill?
Name Census estimates that about 1,557 living Americans carry the surname Parkhill. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 220,138 residents.
How common is Parkhill?
Parkhill ranks #19,847 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.45 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 1,358 people with the surname Parkhill. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,557), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.45 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.45 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 Parkhill.
Has Parkhill become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Parkhill went from 1,432 recorded bearers to 1,358. That is a decrease of 74 (-5.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #19,019 to #19,847.
What does the Census say about the background of Parkhill?
Among Census respondents with the surname Parkhill, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.8%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Parkhill in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.5% (1,229 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Parkhill appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.5%), Hispanic (4.8%), Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Parkhill (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 Parkhill mean?
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near a hill with a park or enclosed area. 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 Parkhill (0.45 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 are called Parkhill?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Parkhill is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.