Explore the Family Name Pettengill

The meaning of Pettengill

English: medieval English name for someone from Portugal (see Portugal), from Middle English Portingal(e) ‘Portugal’ (Old French Portugalois), later also meaning ‘Portuguese’.

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

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

The surname Pettengill increased in popularity between 2000 and 2010, according to the Decennial U.S. Census. In 2000, Pettengill was ranked 14,084th most popular surname in the United States, but by 2010 it had moved up to 13,781st. This represents a change of 2.15%. The number of people bearing the surname also grew from 1,961 in 2000 to 2,195 in 2010, which corresponds to an increase of 11.93%. Its proportion per 100,000 people also rose slightly from 0.73 to 0.74 over the decade.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#14,084	#13,781	2.15%
Count	1,961	2,195	11.93%
Proportion per 100k	0.73	0.74	1.37%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Pettengill

Regarding ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census reports some changes among those with the surname Pettengill between 2000 and 2010. The largest group identified as White, making up 92.86% in 2000 and rising slightly to 93.30% in 2010. The proportion identifying as Hispanic also grew from 3.21% to 3.60%. Conversely, the percentage who identified as having two or more races fell notably from 2.35% to 1.28%. Smaller populations identified as Asian/Pacific Islander, increasing from 0.97% to 1.18%, and American Indian and Alaskan Native, increasing from 0.36% to 0.41%. Those identifying as Black remained relatively stable, decreasing slightly from 0.25% to 0.23%.

	2000	2010	Change
White	92.86%	93.3%	0.47%
Hispanic	3.21%	3.6%	12.15%
Two or More Races	2.35%	1.28%	-45.53%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.97%	1.18%	21.65%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.36%	0.41%	13.89%
Black	0.25%	0.23%	-8%