Explore the Family Name Pledge

The meaning of Pledge

English (southeastern): from Middle English plegge ‘surety, guarantor, bail, pledge’, probably denoting someone who stood bail in a lawsuit. See Pledger.

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

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

Based on the data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Pledge has slightly decreased in the United States between 2000 and 2010. The surname ranked 60,083 in the year 2000 and then fell to 61,745 by 2010, which represents a decrease of 2.77%. However, the actual count of individuals with this surname increased slightly from 314 to 325 during the same period, presenting an increase of 3.5%. Nonetheless, when considered in proportion to the total population, there was a decrease from 0.12 to 0.11 per 100k people, representing an 8.33% decrease in prevalence.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#60,083	#61,745	-2.77%
Count	314	325	3.5%
Proportion per 100k	0.12	0.11	-8.33%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Pledge

The Decennial U.S. Census data also provides insight into the ethnic identity associated with the surname Pledge. In the year 2000, most individuals with the surname identified as Black (60.19%), followed by White (35.35%). By 2010, these percentages changed slightly with Black representation decreasing to 56.62% (-5.93%) and White representation also decreasing to 34.46% (-2.52%). During this same period, the percentage of those identifying as having two or more races significantly increased from 3.82% to 8.00%, marking a change of 109.42%. No individuals with the Pledge surname identified as Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either year.

	2000	2010	Change
Black	60.19%	56.62%	-5.93%
White	35.35%	34.46%	-2.52%
Two or More Races	3.82%	8%	109.42%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Hispanic	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%