Explore the Family Name Penn
The meaning of Penn
1. English: habitational name from either of two places called Penn (in Buckinghamshire and Staffordshire), both of which are named with Brittonic penn ‘head’, often used in hill-names. 2. English: topographic name or metonymic occupational name from Middle English pen(n) ‘enclosure, animal pen, fold’ (Old English penn), for someone who lived by or worked at a fold. Examples of this surname are formally difficult to distinguish from those in 1 above. 3. English: from a pet form of the female personal name Pernel, see Parnell. 4. English: variant of Pinn. 5. Cornish: shortened form of Penna. 6. South German: unexplained. 7. Germanized form of Sorbian P’eń: from Lower Sorbian p’eń ‘tree stump, trunk’, probably a nickname for a short stocky person. 8. Breton (mainly Finistère; also Le Penn): variant of Pen and, in North America, (also) an altered form of this. 9. Americanized form of some similar (like-sounding) Jewish surname. 10. In some cases probably also an Americanized form of Slovenian Pen. 11. Americanized form of the Chinese surname 彭, see Peng 1. History: The Commonwealth of PA was founded in 1681 by an English Quaker, William Penn (1644–1718), who was born in London into a family of Gloucestershire origin. His grandfather was a merchant and sea captain, and his father was an admiral on the Parliamentary side during the Civil War, who later served King Charles II after the Restoration. Because of his father’s services to the crown, Penn the younger received a grant of a vast tract of land in North America, formerly part of New Netherland, which later became the state of PA.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Penn in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname 'Penn' was ranked 1765 in popularity in the year 2000, and by 2010 it had moved to 1849, marking a decrease of 4.76%. The total count of individuals with this surname increased from 18,601 in 2000 to 19,409 in 2010, showing an increase of 4.34%. However, the proportion per 100,000 people decreased slightly from 6.9 to 6.58 during the same period.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1,765 | #1,849 | -4.76% |
| Count | 18,601 | 19,409 | 4.34% |
| Proportion per 100k | 6.9 | 6.58 | -4.64% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Penn
When considering the ethnic identity associated with the surname 'Penn', the Decennial U.S. Census data shows some changes between 2000 and 2010. The percentage of Penns identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander increased from 1.23% to 1.80%, while those identifying as having two or more races increased from 2.23% to 3.39%. Meanwhile, the percentage of those identifying as White decreased from 53.81% to 50.56%. The percentage of Hispanic Penns saw an increase from 3.01% to 4.49% over the decade. Those identifying as Black remained fairly stable, with a slight decrease from 38.56% to 38.50%. There was also a small increase among American Indian and Alaskan Native Penns, going from 1.16% to 1.27%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 53.81% | 50.56% | -6.04% |
| Black | 38.56% | 38.5% | -0.16% |
| Hispanic | 3.01% | 4.49% | 49.17% |
| Two or More Races | 2.23% | 3.39% | 52.02% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 1.23% | 1.8% | 46.34% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 1.16% | 1.27% | 9.48% |
Penn ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Penn is British & Irish, which comprises 39.8% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (18.1%) and Ashkenazi Jewish (11.4%). Additional ancestries include Nigerian, Eastern European, Ghanaian, Liberian & Sierra Leonean, Scandinavian, and Italian.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| British & Irish | 39.8% |
| French & German | 18.1% |
| Ashkenazi Jewish | 11.4% |
| Other | 30.8% |
Possible origins of the surname Penn
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Penn have recent ancestry locations all within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 69.40% |
| Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 69.20% |
| Glasgow City, United Kingdom | 68.90% |
| West Midlands, United Kingdom | 68.70% |
| West Yorkshire, United Kingdom | 68.10% |
What Penn haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Penn is R-L21, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-L21 is descended from haplogroup R-M343. Other common haplogroups include R-CTS241 and R-P311, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Jones, Evans, Lewis, Thomas, Lloyd, Phillips, Black, Jenkins, Richards, Morgan.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Penn surname are: H1, T2b, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins R-M343Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette
Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.
What do people with the surname Penn have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Penn" Surname 40.0%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Misophonia
When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.
"Penn" Surname 30.9%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Penn" Surname 22.0%
23andMe Users 21.1%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Penn" Surname 18.0%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Penn?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Penn are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition