How common is the surname Carpenter?

129,898 people in the United States had the surname Carpenter in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 2,377 Americans. It ranked 231st of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Carpenter?

John Carpenter, American filmmaker, composer and actor (born 1948), followed by Karen Carpenter.

Where is the surname Carpenter most common?

Wikidata records people named Carpenter in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and 1 other country.

Is the surname Carpenter getting more or less common?

More common. 127,073 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 129,898 in 2010, up 2.2%.

The surname Carpenter

A Latin occupational surname, carried by 129,898 people in the United States.

3 syllables Soundex C615

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Carpenter is more common than 99.9% of them.

Origin

Latin origin

From carpenter, from Latin carpentarius.

Carpenter is an occupational surname: named after the work an ancestor did.

One of 91 Latin surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 129,898 people named Carpenter in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 2,377 Americans. That is up 2.2% since 2000, when the Census counted 127,073.

#231

rank among US surnames

129,898

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+2.2%

change since 2000 (was #211)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#222	Berry	132,812	2,325
#223	Perkins	131,440	2,349
#224	Hoffman	131,401	2,350
#225	Johnston	131,373	2,350
#226	Matthews	131,303	2,351
#227	Pena	130,776	2,361
#228	Richards	130,529	2,365

Who is named Carpenter

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

86% of people named Carpenter identified as white (not Hispanic), 8.5% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

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

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Carpenters

47 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

John Carpenter
American filmmaker, composer and actor (born 1948)
Karen Carpenter
American singer and drummer (1950–1983)
Jennifer Carpenter
American actress, born 1979
Scott Carpenter
American test pilot, astronaut and aquanaut (1925–2013)
Charisma Carpenter
American actress, born 1970
Richard Carpenter
American pop musician, born 1946
Mary Chapin Carpenter
American singer-songwriter (b. 1958)
Ellie Carpenter
Australian soccer player, born 2000
Ken Carpenter
Athletics competitor (1913–1984)
Stephen Carpenter
American guitarist, born 1970
Connie Carpenter-Phinney
American racing cyclist and speed skater, born 1957
Russell Carpenter
American cinematographer, born 1950

Notable Carpenters come mostly from the United States (43), Australia (2) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Carpenter

Carpenter has the Soundex code C615, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code C615.

Other Latin surnames

All 91 Latin surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Carpenter come from?: From carpenter, from Latin carpentarius.
How common is the surname Carpenter?: 129,898 people in the United States had the surname Carpenter in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 2,377 Americans. It ranked 231st of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Carpenter?: In the 2010 Census, 86% of people named Carpenter identified as white (not Hispanic), and 8.5% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Carpenter?: John Carpenter, American filmmaker, composer and actor (born 1948), followed by Karen Carpenter.
Where is the surname Carpenter most common?: Wikidata records people named Carpenter in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and 1 other country.
What type of surname is Carpenter?: Carpenter is an occupational surname, named after the work an ancestor did.
Is the surname Carpenter getting more or less common?: More common. 127,073 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 129,898 in 2010, up 2.2%.