2000
#19,953
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,245
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.46
Rare Last name
Pettijohn
A variant surname derived from the Anglo-French "Petijohn," meaning little or young John.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,493 Americans carry the last name Pettijohn. That puts it at #20,612 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.44 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 229,574 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pettijohn 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
1.5K
1 in 229,574
Census rank
#20,612
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,302 bearers of the surname Pettijohn in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.44 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 20612th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pettijohn, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.2%. The next largest groups are Black (7.6%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pettijohn
The surname Pettijohn is believed to have originated in England, likely in the 13th or 14th century. It is thought to be a locational name, derived from a place name that incorporated the elements "petit" and "john." The French word "petit" means small or little, while "john" was a common English personal name derived from the Hebrew name Yohanan.
One theory suggests that the name may have originated from a place called Petit-Jean in Normandy, France. It is possible that someone from this location migrated to England and took on the surname Pettijohn. Another theory proposes that the name may have originated from a small settlement or hamlet in England named after someone called John.
The earliest known record of the surname Pettijohn dates back to the 15th century. In 1467, a William Pettijohn was mentioned in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk. This suggests that the name was already established in the region by that time.
In the 16th century, the surname appeared in various spellings, including Petijohn, Pettyjohn, and Petyjohn. This was a common occurrence during that period, as spelling conventions were not yet standardized. One notable individual from this era was John Pettijohn, a farmer from Gloucestershire who was born in 1542 and died in 1612.
In the 17th century, the name Pettijohn can be found in several historical records. For instance, a Richard Pettijohn was listed in the 1642 Protestation Returns for Warwickshire. Additionally, a Thomas Pettijohn was mentioned in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Newington, Surrey, in 1679.
One of the earliest known instances of the surname Pettijohn in North America dates back to the late 17th century. In 1691, a William Pettijohn was recorded as a landowner in Pennsylvania. This suggests that some members of the Pettijohn family had already migrated to the British colonies in the New World by that time.
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, several notable individuals bore the surname Pettijohn. In 1745, a Samuel Pettijohn was born in Virginia and later served as a soldier in the American Revolutionary War. Another notable figure was John Pettijohn, a farmer and landowner from Ohio, who was born in 1789 and died in 1872.
In the 19th century, the name Pettijohn also appeared in various literary works and historical accounts. For instance, a character named Pettijohn was mentioned in the novel "The Virginians" by William Makepeace Thackeray, published in 1859. Additionally, a Pettijohn family from Missouri was mentioned in the book "A History of Missouri" by Eugene Morrow Violette, published in 1918.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pettijohn
Among Census respondents with the surname Pettijohn, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.2%. The next largest groups are Black (7.6%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Pettijohn 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 Pettijohn surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.2% · 1,096
- Black or African American7.6% · 99
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 44
- Two or more races3.4% · 44
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pettijohn
Pettijohn 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
#20,408
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,302
+57 bearers (+4.6%)
Per 100,000 0.44
Rank movement Down 455 places
2020
#20,612
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,302
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.44
Rank movement Down 204 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #19,953 | 1,245 | 0.46 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #20,408 | 1,302 | 0.44 | +57 bearers (+4.6%) | Down 455 places |
| 2020 | #20,612 | 1,302 | 0.44 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 204 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 Pettijohn 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 | #20,408 | #20,612 | -1.0% |
| Count | 1,302 | 1,302 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.44 | 0.44 | -1.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pettijohn bearers went from 1,302 to 1,302 (+0.0% change). The surname moved down 204 positions in the national ranking, going from #20,408 to #20,612.
FAQ
Pettijohn surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pettijohn?
Name Census estimates that about 1,493 living Americans carry the surname Pettijohn. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 229,574 residents.
How common is Pettijohn?
Pettijohn ranks #20,612 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.44 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 1,302 people with the surname Pettijohn. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,493), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.44 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.44 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 Pettijohn.
Has Pettijohn become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pettijohn went from 1,302 recorded bearers to 1,302. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #20,408 to #20,612.
What does the Census say about the background of Pettijohn?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pettijohn, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.2%. The next largest groups are Black (7.6%) and Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Pettijohn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.2% (1,096 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pettijohn appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.2%), Black (7.6%), Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Pettijohn (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 Pettijohn mean?
A variant surname derived from the Anglo-French "Petijohn," meaning little or young John. 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 Pettijohn (0.44 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 Pettijohn?
Find out how many people have the last name Pettijohn on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.