2000
#933
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 34,278
First available Census row
Per 100,000 12.71
Uncommon Last name
Petty
An English occupational surname referring to a small landowner or farmer, from the Old French petit meaning "small".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 38,427 Americans carry the last name Petty. That puts it at #1,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 11.21 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 8,920 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Petty 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 Petty with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
38K
1 in 8,920
Census rank
#1,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
11.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
34K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 33,510 bearers of the surname Petty in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 11.21 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Petty, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.3%. The next largest groups are Black (20.7%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Petty
The surname Petty originated in England and is believed to have derived from the Old French word "petit," meaning small or little. It likely emerged as a nickname for a person of short stature or a younger child in a family during the Middle Ages.
The name Petty is found in various spellings, such as Pety, Pettie, and Petye, in early English records and documents. One of the earliest documented instances is in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273, which mentions a William Pety.
In the renowned Domesday Book of 1086, compiled by order of William the Conqueror, there are several references to locations with names containing the root "petit," suggesting the presence of individuals bearing this surname or its variants in those areas.
The Petty surname has a long and notable history in England, with several prominent individuals bearing this name. One of the most famous was Sir William Petty, an English economist, scientist, and philosopher who lived from 1623 to 1687. He made significant contributions to the fields of statistics, political economy, and surveying.
Another notable figure was John Petty, born in 1601, who served as a member of the English Parliament during the 17th century and was involved in the English Civil War. William Petty, born in 1737, was a notable English writer and artist known for his landscape paintings and travel writings.
In the literary world, Tom Petty, born in 1950 and died in 2017, was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the lead singer of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Although not directly related to the English surname, his name highlights the enduring presence of the Petty name.
The Petty surname has also been associated with certain place names in England, such as Petty France, a historic area in London, and Petty Curry, a village in Somersetshire. These place names may have their origins linked to the surname or vice versa, reflecting the interconnectedness of surnames and geographical locations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Petty
Among Census respondents with the surname Petty, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.3%. The next largest groups are Black (20.7%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Petty 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 Petty surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.3% · 23,541
- Black or African American20.7% · 6,925
- Two or more races4.5% · 1,514
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 1,154
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 209
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 167
Timeline
Historical Census data for Petty
Petty 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
#1,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 34,882
+604 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 11.83
Rank movement Down 72 places
2020
#1,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 33,510
-1,372 bearers (-3.9%)
Per 100,000 11.21
Rank movement Down 23 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #933 | 34,278 | 12.71 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,005 | 34,882 | 11.83 | +604 bearers (+1.8%) | Down 72 places |
| 2020 | #1,028 | 33,510 | 11.21 | -1,372 bearers (-3.9%) | 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 Petty 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 | #1,005 | #1,028 | -2.3% |
| Count | 34,882 | 33,510 | -3.9% |
| Per 100K | 11.83 | 11.21 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Petty bearers went from 34,882 to 33,510 (-3.9% change). The surname moved down 23 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,005 to #1,028.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Petty
FAQ
Petty surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Petty?
Name Census estimates that about 38,427 living Americans carry the surname Petty. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 8,920 residents.
How common is Petty?
Petty ranks #1,028 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 11.21 per 100,000 residents, which is about 11 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 33,510 people with the surname Petty. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (38,427), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 11.21 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 11.21 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 11 of them to have the surname Petty.
Has Petty become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Petty went from 34,882 recorded bearers to 33,510. That is a decrease of 1,372 (-3.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,005 to #1,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Petty?
Among Census respondents with the surname Petty, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.3%. The next largest groups are Black (20.7%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Petty in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.3% (23,541 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Petty appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (70.3%), Black (20.7%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Petty (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 Petty mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a small landowner or farmer, from the Old French petit meaning "small". 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 Petty (11.21 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 Americans have the surname Petty?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.