Explore the Family Name Pennock

The meaning of Pennock

1. English (mainly North Yorkshire): perhaps from an unrecorded Middle English personal name Penoc, which might be a pet form of Old English Pǣgna, of uncertain origin. 2. Welsh: perhaps a nickname from Middle Welsh pennoc ‘big- headed’, ‘with a large head’, possibly ‘headstrong’.

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

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

According to the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Pennock has seen minor fluctuations from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, the surname was ranked 12,221 in terms of popularity, with 2,337 individuals carrying it. However, by 2010, the ranking slightly dropped to 12,745, despite an increase in the count to 2,421 individuals. This represents a modest growth rate of 3.59%, but the proportion per 100,000 people decreased by 5.75% over the decade.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#12,221	#12,745	-4.29%
Count	2,337	2,421	3.59%
Proportion per 100k	0.87	0.82	-5.75%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Pennock

The Decennial U.S. Census data also reveals interesting trends regarding the ethnic identity associated with the surname Pennock. In 2000, the vast majority of those with the surname identified as White (93.80%), followed by American Indian and Alaskan Native (1.93%), Black (1.71%), and Hispanic (1.41%) groups. By 2010, there were slight shifts within these percentages, but Whites still dominated at 92.44%. Meanwhile, the percentage of Black and Hispanic individuals increased significantly by 47.37% and 29.08% respectively. The data for Asian/Pacific Islander and those identifying with two or more races was suppressed in 2000, but by 2010, they made up 0.41% and 1.40% of the Pennocks respectively.

	2000	2010	Change
White	93.8%	92.44%	-1.45%
Black	1.71%	2.52%	47.37%
Hispanic	1.41%	1.82%	29.08%
Two or More Races	0%	1.4%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	1.93%	1.4%	-27.46%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0.41%	0%