Explore the Family Name Pfenning

The meaning of Pfenning

German: from Middle High German pfenninc, pfennic ‘penny’, a nickname applied with reference to tax obligations; later it may have been a metonymic occupational name for a merchant dealing in penny wares. Compare Penny. Some characteristic forenames: German Erhardt, Helmuth, Kurt, Otto.

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

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

According to the Decennial U.S. Census, in terms of popularity, the surname Pfenning was ranked 29,390 in 2000 and slightly dropped to 31,001 in 2010, reflecting a decrease of 5.48%. The count of individuals with this surname also marginally decreased from 758 in 2000 to 749 in 2010, marking a decline of 1.19%. Furthermore, the proportion per 100k population fell by 10.71%, from 0.28 to 0.25 over the same period.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#29,390	#31,001	-5.48%
Count	758	749	-1.19%
Proportion per 100k	0.28	0.25	-10.71%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Pfenning

The ethnicity data from the Decennial U.S. Census reveals some shifts between 2000 and 2010. While there was no recorded percentage of Asian/Pacific Islanders with the surname Pfenning in 2000, it rose to 0.67% in 2010. The percentage of individuals identifying as two or more races, however, dropped from 1.06% in 2000 to zero in 2010. The majority ethnic identity associated with the surname remained White, though its percentage slightly decreased from 96.31% to 94.79%. Meanwhile, the Hispanic representation saw a notable increase, jumping from 2.24% to 4.14%. There were no changes for Black and American Indian and Alaskan Native ethnic identities.

	2000	2010	Change
White	96.31%	94.79%	-1.58%
Hispanic	2.24%	4.14%	84.82%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0.67%	0%
Two or More Races	1.06%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%