2000
#14,755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,846
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.68
Rare Last name
Pew
A variant of the surname Peugh, of English origin, potentially derived from an Old English place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,866 Americans carry the last name Pew. That puts it at #17,042 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.54 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 183,684 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pew 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 Pew with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.9K
1 in 183,684
Census rank
#17,042
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,627 bearers of the surname Pew in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.54 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 17042nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pew, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.8%. The next largest groups are Black (10.6%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pew
The surname PEW has its origins in England, tracing back to the late 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "peoh," meaning a small enclosed area or a pen, often associated with keeping livestock. This suggests that the name may have originated as a reference to someone who lived near or maintained such an enclosure.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name PEW can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327, where it appears as "Pew." This document was a tax record, indicating that individuals with this surname were present in the region during that time.
In the 15th century, the name was also recorded in various forms, such as "Pew" and "Pewe," in the Feet of Fines for Norfolk and Suffolk, which were legal records documenting property transactions. This suggests that the name had spread to different parts of England by that time.
The variant spelling "Pugh" is also closely related to PEW and is believed to have originated from the same root. This form of the name can be found in records dating back to the 16th century, such as the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1569, where it appears as "Pugh."
One notable figure from history bearing the surname PEW was William Pew, a wealthy merchant from Gloucestershire, who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He was involved in the cloth trade and held significant influence in his community.
Another individual of historical significance was John Pew, born in 1609 in Gloucestershire. He was a Puritan minister who emigrated to America in the mid-17th century and became a prominent figure in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, serving as a pastor in several churches.
In the 18th century, the name PEW appeared in records related to the American Revolutionary War, with individuals such as Joseph Pew, born in 1742 in Pennsylvania, serving as a soldier in the Continental Army.
The surname PEW has also been associated with various place names throughout England, such as Pewsey in Wiltshire, which may have derived its name from the Old English words "peoh" and "ēa," meaning a river near a pen or enclosure.
Other notable individuals with the surname PEW include Henry Pew, a British businessman and philanthropist born in 1838, who founded the Pew Charitable Trusts, one of the largest private foundations in the United States. Additionally, Joseph Newton Pew, born in 1848 in Massachusetts, was a prominent businessman and founder of the Sun Oil Company, which later became Sunoco.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pew
Among Census respondents with the surname Pew, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.8%. The next largest groups are Black (10.6%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Pew 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 Pew surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.8% · 1,315
- Black or African American10.6% · 172
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 60
- Two or more races2.8% · 45
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 26
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pew
Pew 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
#17,398
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,622
-224 bearers (-12.1%)
Per 100,000 0.55
Rank movement Down 2,643 places
2020
#17,042
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,627
+5 bearers (+0.3%)
Per 100,000 0.54
Rank movement Up 356 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,755 | 1,846 | 0.68 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #17,398 | 1,622 | 0.55 | -224 bearers (-12.1%) | Down 2,643 places |
| 2020 | #17,042 | 1,627 | 0.54 | +5 bearers (+0.3%) | Up 356 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 Pew 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 | #17,398 | #17,042 | 2.0% |
| Count | 1,622 | 1,627 | 0.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.55 | 0.54 | -1.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pew bearers went from 1,622 to 1,627 (+0.3% change). The surname moved up 356 positions in the national ranking, going from #17,398 to #17,042.
FAQ
Pew surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pew?
Name Census estimates that about 1,866 living Americans carry the surname Pew. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 183,684 residents.
How common is Pew?
Pew ranks #17,042 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.54 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,627 people with the surname Pew. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,866), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.54 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.54 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Pew.
Has Pew become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pew went from 1,622 recorded bearers to 1,627. That is an increase of 5 (+0.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #17,398 to #17,042.
What does the Census say about the background of Pew?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pew, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.8%. The next largest groups are Black (10.6%) and Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Pew in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.8% (1,315 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pew appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.8%), Black (10.6%), Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Pew (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 Pew mean?
A variant of the surname Peugh, of English origin, potentially derived from an Old English place name. 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 Pew (0.54 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 Pew?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.