2000
#42,983
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 474
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.18
Very Rare Last name
Petrenko
A patronymic surname derived from the name Petr (Peter), meaning "son of Petr."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 846 Americans carry the last name Petrenko. That puts it at #33,269 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.25 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 405,147 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Petrenko 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
846
1 in 405,147
Census rank
#33,269
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
738
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 738 bearers of the surname Petrenko in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.25 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 33269th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Petrenko, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Petrenko
The surname Petrenko originated in Ukraine and can be traced back to the 16th century. It derived from the given name Petro, which is the Ukrainian form of Peter, combined with the patronymic suffix "-enko" meaning "son of". Initially, Petrenko was used to identify the son of a man named Petro.
Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name Petrenko can be found in church records and census documents from the Poltava region of central Ukraine. This area was historically part of the Cossack Hetmanate, a semi-autonomous military state that existed from the 16th to the 18th century.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Petrenko surname appeared in various historical documents related to the Cossack military campaigns and uprisings against Polish and Russian rule. One notable figure was Ivan Petrenko, a Cossack colonel who fought alongside Bohdan Khmelnytsky during the Khmelnytsky Uprising of 1648-1657.
In the 19th century, the Petrenko surname became more widespread as it was adopted by families across Ukraine and parts of Russia. Mikhail Petrenko (1836-1908) was a prominent Ukrainian writer and ethnographer who documented Ukrainian folk tales and traditions.
Another notable individual with the Petrenko surname was Yevhen Petrenko (1857-1918), a Ukrainian composer and conductor who is considered one of the founders of Ukrainian classical music. His works include operas, symphonies, and choral pieces inspired by Ukrainian folk melodies.
In the early 20th century, Hryhoriy Petrenko (1886-1920) was a Ukrainian political leader and military commander who played a significant role in the struggle for Ukrainian independence during the Russian Revolution and the Ukrainian-Soviet War.
Vasyl Petrenko (1956-present) is a contemporary Ukrainian conductor and music director who has led prestigious orchestras such as the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and the Oslo Philharmonic.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Petrenko
Among Census respondents with the surname Petrenko, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Petrenko 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 Petrenko surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.5% · 705
- Two or more races2.2% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 7
- Black or African American0.8% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino0.5% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Petrenko
Petrenko 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
#36,477
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 613
+139 bearers (+29.3%)
Per 100,000 0.21
Rank movement Up 6,506 places
2020
#33,269
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 738
+125 bearers (+20.4%)
Per 100,000 0.25
Rank movement Up 3,208 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #42,983 | 474 | 0.18 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #36,477 | 613 | 0.21 | +139 bearers (+29.3%) | Up 6,506 places |
| 2020 | #33,269 | 738 | 0.25 | +125 bearers (+20.4%) | Up 3,208 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 Petrenko 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 | #36,477 | #33,269 | 8.8% |
| Count | 613 | 738 | 20.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.21 | 0.25 | 17.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Petrenko bearers went from 613 to 738 (+20.4% change). The surname moved up 3,208 positions in the national ranking, going from #36,477 to #33,269.
FAQ
Petrenko surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Petrenko?
Name Census estimates that about 846 living Americans carry the surname Petrenko. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 405,147 residents.
How common is Petrenko?
Petrenko ranks #33,269 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.25 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 738 people with the surname Petrenko. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (846), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.25 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.25 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 Petrenko.
Has Petrenko become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Petrenko went from 613 recorded bearers to 738. That is an increase of 125 (+20.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #36,477 to #33,269.
What does the Census say about the background of Petrenko?
Among Census respondents with the surname Petrenko, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Petrenko in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.5% (705 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Petrenko appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.5%), Two or More Races (2.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Petrenko (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 Petrenko mean?
A patronymic surname derived from the name Petr (Peter), meaning "son of Petr." 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 Petrenko (0.25 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 Americans have the surname Petrenko?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.