2000
#4,480
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,288
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.70
Rare Last name
Pomeroy
From the French place name "Pommeraie," meaning "apple orchard," likely referring to someone who lived near or tended one.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,001 Americans carry the last name Pomeroy. That puts it at #4,902 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.33 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 42,839 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pomeroy 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 Pomeroy with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.0K
1 in 42,839
Census rank
#4,902
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,977 bearers of the surname Pomeroy in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.33 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4902nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pomeroy, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pomeroy
The surname Pomeroy has its origins in the village of Pomeroy, located in the Ille-et-Vilaine department of Brittany, France. The name is derived from the Old French words "pomme" meaning apple, and "roi" meaning king or chief, suggesting that the place name may have originally referred to an apple orchard owned by a prominent individual.
The earliest recorded mention of the name Pomeroy can be found in the Domesday Book, a detailed survey commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This record lists a Norman knight named Ralphe de la Pomeraie, who held lands in Devonshire, England, indicating that the family had already established itself in England by the late 11th century.
In the 12th century, Sir Henry de Pomeroy accompanied King Richard I on the Third Crusade to the Holy Land, and his exploits are documented in several contemporary chronicles. Another notable member of the family was Sir Thomas Pomeroy (1370-1416), who served as a knight of the shire for Devon and fought in the Wars of the Roses.
During the English Civil War, Sir Edward Pomeroy (1619-1672) was a staunch Royalist and fought alongside King Charles I. He was later forced to sell his estates to pay fines imposed by the Parliamentarians.
In the 18th century, John Pomeroy (1718-1789) was a prominent merchant and landowner in Massachusetts, and his descendants played a significant role in the American Revolutionary War. One of his sons, Seth Pomeroy (1706-1777), was a renowned military leader who participated in the Battles of Bunker Hill and Saratoga.
Another noteworthy figure was Sir George Pomeroy-Colley (1835-1881), a British army officer who served in various campaigns across the British Empire, including the Second Anglo-Afghan War and the First Boer War, where he was killed in action at the Battle of Majuba Hill.
Throughout its history, the Pomeroy surname has been subject to various spellings, including Pomeraie, Pomeraye, Pomraye, and Pommeroy, reflecting the linguistic and cultural influences of the regions where the name was prevalent.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pomeroy
Among Census respondents with the surname Pomeroy, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Pomeroy 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 Pomeroy surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.8% · 6,338
- Two or more races3.9% · 274
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 224
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 68
- Black or African American0.6% · 39
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 34
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pomeroy
Pomeroy 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
#4,792
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,377
+89 bearers (+1.2%)
Per 100,000 2.50
Rank movement Down 312 places
2020
#4,902
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,977
-400 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 2.33
Rank movement Down 110 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,480 | 7,288 | 2.70 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,792 | 7,377 | 2.50 | +89 bearers (+1.2%) | Down 312 places |
| 2020 | #4,902 | 6,977 | 2.33 | -400 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 110 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 Pomeroy 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 | #4,792 | #4,902 | -2.3% |
| Count | 7,377 | 6,977 | -5.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.50 | 2.33 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pomeroy bearers went from 7,377 to 6,977 (-5.4% change). The surname moved down 110 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,792 to #4,902.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Pomeroy
FAQ
Pomeroy surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pomeroy?
Name Census estimates that about 8,001 living Americans carry the surname Pomeroy. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 42,839 residents.
How common is Pomeroy?
Pomeroy ranks #4,902 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.33 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,977 people with the surname Pomeroy. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,001), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.33 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.33 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Pomeroy.
Has Pomeroy become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pomeroy went from 7,377 recorded bearers to 6,977. That is a decrease of 400 (-5.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,792 to #4,902.
What does the Census say about the background of Pomeroy?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pomeroy, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Pomeroy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.8% (6,338 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pomeroy appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.8%), Two or More Races (3.9%), Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Pomeroy (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 Pomeroy mean?
From the French place name "Pommeraie," meaning "apple orchard," likely referring to someone who lived near or tended one. 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 Pomeroy (2.33 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 Pomeroy?
For a quick modern take, check how common the surname Pomeroy is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.