Explore the Family Name Penrose

The meaning of Penrose

Cornish and Welsh: habitational name from any of the places called Penrose or Penrhos: twelve in Cornwall, one in Devon, several in Wales, and one in Herefordshire near the Welsh border. The Cornwall and Devon placenames derive from Middle Cornish pen ros ‘hill’s end’ (pen ‘head, top, end; promontory’, ros ‘promontory, hill spur’). The Herefordshire and Wales placenames have the same meaning, derived from the Welsh elements which correspond to Middle Cornish pen + ros.

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

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

Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Penrose ranked 10,821 in popularity in 2000 and dropped slightly to 11,269 in 2010, a change of -4.14%. Despite this dip in rank, the actual count of individuals with the Penrose surname rose from 2,704 in 2000 to 2,806 in 2010, indicating a growth of 3.77%. However, when considering the proportion per 100k people, there was a slight decrease from 1.0 in 2000 to 0.95 in 2010, showing a decline of 5%.

20002010Change
Rank#10,821#11,269-4.14%
Count2,7042,8063.77%
Proportion per 100k10.95-5%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Penrose

The ethnic identity associated with the Penrose surname also showed notable shifts based on the Decennial U.S. Census data. In 2000, the majority of Penroses identified as White (91.79%), but this percentage saw a small decrease to 89.49% by 2010. Meanwhile, those identifying as having two or more races saw significant growth, going from 1.37% in 2000 to 2.57% in 2010, a remarkable increase of 87.59%. Similarly, the percentage of Penroses identifying as Hispanic rose from 1.70% to 2.57%, a rise of 51.18%. The percentages of those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander and Black saw modest increases, while the percentage of those identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native decreased.

20002010Change
White91.79%89.49%-2.51%
Black3.59%3.88%8.08%
Two or More Races1.37%2.57%87.59%
Hispanic1.7%2.57%51.18%
Asian/Pacific Islander1.07%1.14%6.54%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.48%0.36%-25%

Penrose 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 Penrose is British & Irish, which comprises 54.2% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (23.1%) and Italian (3.9%). Additional ancestries include Scandinavian, Finnish, Eastern European, Indigenous American, and Spanish & Portuguese.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
British & Irish54.2%
French & German23.1%
Italian3.9%
Other18.8%
Penrose

Possible origins of the surname Penrose

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 Penrose have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Greater Manchester, United Kingdom87.70%
Merseyside, United Kingdom87.70%
West Midlands, United Kingdom87.70%
Glasgow City, United Kingdom87.70%
Greater London, United Kingdom87.70%

What Penrose 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 Penrose is I-CTS6397, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup I-CTS6397 is descended from haplogroup I-M170. Other common haplogroups include R-CTS241 and I-M253, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Crabtree, Dozier, Bayliss, Nickels, Murry, Deacon, Vaughan, Lloyd, Morgan, Vaughn.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Penrose surname are: H1, H, U5a1. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

penrosePaternal Haplogroup Origins I-M170
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to the people of Doggerland

One of the places that was repopulated as the Ice Age waned no longer exists. During the Ice Age and for some time afterward, lower sea levels exposed much of the area that is now covered by the North Sea. Known as "Doggerland," the region must have been occupied by men bearing haplogroup I, because today it is abundant in all of the countries surrounding the North Sea.As the meltwaters of the retreating Ice Age glaciers caused sea levels to rise, the low-lying forests and wetlands of Doggerland gradually became inundated. The inhabitants of Doggerland retreated to the higher ground that is now the North Sea coast. I-M253 is especially common today in Scandinavia — it reaches levels of 33% in Denmark and Sweden — and is somewhat common in England, Germany and the Netherlands, where it is found in about 15% of men.

Your 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.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Penrose 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

Penrose

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Penrose" Surname 44.1%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Penrose

Misophonia

When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.

"Penrose" Surname 18.4%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

Penrose

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Penrose" Surname 19.1%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Penrose

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Penrose" Surname 23.2%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Penrose?

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 Penrose are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

British & Irish 62.1%

23andMe Users 57.2%