Explore the Family Name Parchment

The meaning of Parchment

English: metonymic occupational name from Middle English parchemin, parchmen, parchement ‘parchment’ (Old French parchemin), perhaps for someone who made or sold parchment. This name is frequent in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Parchment in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Parchment has seen a notable increase in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Parchment was ranked as the 29,390th most popular surname, but by 2010 it had risen to 23,604th position, reflecting a significant change of 19.69%. The count of people bearing this surname also increased from 758 in 2000 to 1,075 in 2010, a substantial growth of 41.82%. Consequently, the proportion of people with the surname per 100,000 individuals also rose by 28.57% during this period.

20002010Change
Rank#29,390#23,60419.69%
Count7581,07541.82%
Proportion per 100k0.280.3628.57%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Parchment

When it comes to the ethnic identity associated with the Parchment surname, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows some shifts between 2000 and 2010. Most notably, the percentage of individuals identifying as Black increased from 73.22% to 77.21%, a change of 5.45%. There were also new entries for Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaskan Native identities in 2010, which were not present in 2000. However, the percentage of individuals identifying with two or more races saw a decrease of 61.37%, dropping from 8.44% in 2000 to 3.26% in 2010. The representation of White individuals also slightly decreased from 13.98% to 12.65%, while the Hispanic representation saw an increase from 3.96% to 5.49%.

20002010Change
Black73.22%77.21%5.45%
White13.98%12.65%-9.51%
Hispanic3.96%5.49%38.64%
Two or More Races8.44%3.26%-61.37%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0.74%0%
Asian/Pacific Islander0%0.65%0%