# Carpenter (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/carpenter/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname originating as an occupation derived from the trade name carpenter.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Latin |
| Type | occupational, named after the work an ancestor did |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 129,898 |
| US rank (2010) | 231 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 2,377 people |
| Change since 2000 | +2.2% (127,073 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From carpenter, from Latin carpentarius.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Carpenter in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 86% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 8.5% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.2% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.7% |
| Two or more races | 1.9% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Carpenter in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United Kingdom.

## People named Carpenter

- John Carpenter, American filmmaker, composer and actor (born 1948)
- Karen Carpenter, American singer and drummer (1950–1983)
- Jennifer Carpenter, American actress
- Scott Carpenter, American test pilot, astronaut and aquanaut (1925–2013)
- Charisma Carpenter, American actress
- Richard Carpenter, American pop musician
- Mary Chapin Carpenter, American singer-songwriter (b. 1958)
- Ellie Carpenter, Australian soccer player
- Ken Carpenter, athletics competitor (1913–1984)
- Stephen Carpenter, American guitarist
- Connie Carpenter-Phinney, American racing cyclist and speed skater
- Russell Carpenter, American cinematographer

and 35 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Carpentier, Cervantes, Cervantez, Charpentier, Carpino, Corbin, Craven, Carbone, Cravens, Charbonneau, Crippen, Carbonell.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.