2000
#513
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 58,257
First available Census row
Per 100,000 21.60
Uncommon Last name
Patrick
An anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Pádraig, meaning "descendant of Pádraig" (Patrick).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 65,835 Americans carry the last name Patrick. That puts it at #575 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 19.21 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 5,206 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Patrick 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 Patrick with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
66K
1 in 5,206
Census rank
#575
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
19.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
57K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 57,411 bearers of the surname Patrick in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 19.21 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 575th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Patrick, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.5%. The next largest groups are Black (20.5%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Patrick
The surname Patrick has its origins in Ireland and is derived from the Latin name Patricius, meaning "son of a noble father". It is thought to have been brought to Ireland by Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, who was born in Roman Britain in the 5th century AD.
The name Patrick first appears in Irish records in the 7th century, with the earliest known reference being to a Bishop Patrick who attended the Synod of Tara in 697 AD. By the 9th century, the name had become widespread across Ireland, with many notable figures bearing the surname.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the surname Patrick is found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which mentions a "Patrick mac Fethgna" in the year 857 AD. The name is also found in the Annals of Innisfallen, another important Irish manuscript, which refers to a "Patrick Ua Muireadhaigh" in the year 1016 AD.
In the 12th century, the name Patrick began to spread beyond Ireland as a result of the Anglo-Norman invasion. It appeared in English records such as the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is spelled as "Patricius". The surname was also found in Scotland, where it was often anglicized to "Patrickson" or "Patterson".
Notable historical figures with the surname Patrick include Saint Patrick himself, who is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland in the 5th century. Leabhar na Nucongbhála, an Irish manuscript from the 14th century, mentions a "Patrick O'Heyne" who was Bishop of Connor in 1349.
In the 16th century, Richard Patrick was an English Catholic martyr who was executed in 1593 for denying the spiritual supremacy of Queen Elizabeth I. Another prominent figure was Samuel Patrick, an English theologian and bishop who lived from 1589 to 1672.
In more recent history, Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin (1770-1840), known as the "Apostle of the Alleghenies", was a Russian prince who became a Catholic priest and missionary in Pennsylvania. Mary Melinda Patrick (1841-1931) was an American educator and founder of the Virginia Industrial School for Girls in 1915.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Patrick
Among Census respondents with the surname Patrick, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.5%. The next largest groups are Black (20.5%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Patrick 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 Patrick surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.5% · 40,462
- Black or African American20.5% · 11,764
- Two or more races4.1% · 2,376
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 1,720
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 552
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 537
Timeline
Historical Census data for Patrick
Patrick 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
#552
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 60,845
+2,588 bearers (+4.4%)
Per 100,000 20.63
Rank movement Down 39 places
2020
#575
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 57,411
-3,434 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 19.21
Rank movement Down 23 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #513 | 58,257 | 21.60 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #552 | 60,845 | 20.63 | +2,588 bearers (+4.4%) | Down 39 places |
| 2020 | #575 | 57,411 | 19.21 | -3,434 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 23 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 Patrick 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 | #552 | #575 | -4.2% |
| Count | 60,845 | 57,411 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 20.63 | 19.21 | -6.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Patrick bearers went from 60,845 to 57,411 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 23 positions in the national ranking, going from #552 to #575.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Patrick
FAQ
Patrick surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Patrick?
Name Census estimates that about 65,835 living Americans carry the surname Patrick. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 5,206 residents.
How common is Patrick?
Patrick ranks #575 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 19.21 per 100,000 residents, which is about 19 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 57,411 people with the surname Patrick. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (65,835), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 19.21 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 19.21 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 19 of them to have the surname Patrick.
Has Patrick become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Patrick went from 60,845 recorded bearers to 57,411. That is a decrease of 3,434 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #552 to #575.
What does the Census say about the background of Patrick?
Among Census respondents with the surname Patrick, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.5%. The next largest groups are Black (20.5%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Patrick in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.5% (40,462 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Patrick appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (70.5%), Black (20.5%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Patrick (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 Patrick mean?
An anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Pádraig, meaning "descendant of Pádraig" (Patrick). 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 Patrick (19.21 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 Patrick?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.