# Peabody (surname)

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

A surname transferred from the nickname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | nickname, from a description or nickname of an ancestor |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 5,345 |
| US rank (2010) | 6,367 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 57,763 people |
| Change since 2000 | +0.7% (5,310 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈpibɑdi/, 3 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Middle English Pebody, equivalent to pea (“peacock”) + body (“body, person”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Peabody 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) | 91% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 3.4% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.3% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.1% |
| Two or more races | 1.3% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Peabody in the United States.

## People named Peabody

- George Peabody, American-British entrepreneur and philanthropist (1795–1869)
- George Foster Peabody, American banker and philanthropist (1852-1938)
- Elizabeth Peabody, American educator 1804-1894
- Sandra Peabody, American actress
- Endicott Peabody, American politician (1920-1997)
- James Hamilton Peabody, American politician (1852-1917)
- Dick Peabody, American actor (1925-1999)
- Cecil H. Peabody, American mechanical engineer (1855–1934)
- Caresse Crosby, American publisher, activist, and inventor of the bra (1892–1970)

## 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.