Explore the Family Name Pennycook

The meaning of Pennycook

1. Scottish: habitational name from Penicuik in Midlothian. The placename is from Brittonic (Cumbric) penn ir gog ‘cuckoo summit’ (from pen ‘head, summit’ + cog ‘cuckoo’). 2. English: occupational name from Middle English peni ‘penny’ (Old English penig) + cok ‘cook’ (Old English cōk), denoting a cook selling meals worth a penny. 3. English: perhaps also from a pet form of the rare Middle English personal name Pening + the hypocristic suffix cok.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Pennycook has seen a slight decline in popularity over the years. In 2000, it was ranked 107,565 and it dropped to 113,155 by 2010, showing a decrease of about 5.2%. However, the count of individuals with the Pennycook surname slightly increased from 153 in 2000 to 155 in 2010, marking a growth of 1.31%. The proportion of people with this surname per 100,000 members of the population also reduced by 16.67% in the same period.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#107,565	#113,155	-5.2%
Count	153	155	1.31%
Proportion per 100k	0.06	0.05	-16.67%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Pennycook

Discussing the ethnic identity of those bearing the surname Pennycook, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals that majority identified as White in both 2000 and 2010, with an increase from 82.35% to 89.03% respectively. On the other hand, the percentage of Pennycooks who identify as Black saw a considerable drop from 13.73% in 2000 to 6.45% in 2010, a decrease of 53.02%. No Pennycooks identified as Asian/Pacific Islander, of two or more races, Hispanic, or American Indian and Alaskan Native during these census periods.

	2000	2010	Change
White	82.35%	89.03%	8.11%
Black	13.73%	6.45%	-53.02%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Two or More Races	0%	0%	0%
Hispanic	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%