How common is the surname Penny?

10,249 people in the United States had the surname Penny in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 30,124 Americans. It ranked 3,485th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Penny?

Sydney Penny, American actress, followed by Brendan Penny.

Where is the surname Penny most common?

Wikidata records people named Penny in the United States and Canada.

How do you pronounce Penny?

Penny is /ˈpɛni/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Penny getting more or less common?

More common. 9,615 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 10,249 in 2010, up 6.6%.

Is Penny also a first name?

Yes. Penny is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Penny

A surname, carried by 10,249 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈpɛni/ 2 syllables Soundex P500 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Penny is more common than 97.9% of them.

Origin

From Pen(elope) + -y.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 10,249 people named Penny in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 30,124 Americans. That is up 6.6% since 2000, when the Census counted 9,615.

#3,485

rank among US surnames

10,249

people in 2010

3.5

per 100,000 Americans

+6.6%

change since 2000 (was #3,410)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#3,476	Hanlon	10,278	30,039
#3,477	Easton	10,276	30,045
#3,479	Rojo	10,275	30,048
#3,480	Motley	10,274	30,051
#3,481	Ballesteros	10,261	30,089
#3,482	Lindley	10,260	30,092
#3,483	Caputo	10,257	30,101

Who is named Penny

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

72% of people named Penny identified as white (not Hispanic), 21% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.9% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 72%
Black (not Hispanic) 21%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.9%
Two or more races 2.4%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.8%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Pennys

6 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Sydney Penny
American actress, born 1971
Brendan Penny
Actor, born 2000
Joe Penny
Actor, born 1956
Christopher Penny
American rower, born 1962
Tim Penny
American politician, born 1951
Virginia Penny
American social reformer and economist, 1826–1913

Notable Pennys come mostly from the United States (5) and Canada (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Pennie

Surnames that sound like Penny

Penny has the Soundex code P500, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code P500.

Questions

Where does the surname Penny come from?: From Pen(elope) + -y.
How common is the surname Penny?: 10,249 people in the United States had the surname Penny in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 30,124 Americans. It ranked 3,485th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Penny?: In the 2010 Census, 72% of people named Penny identified as white (not Hispanic), and 21% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Penny?: Sydney Penny, American actress, followed by Brendan Penny.
Where is the surname Penny most common?: Wikidata records people named Penny in the United States and Canada.
How do you pronounce Penny?: Penny is /ˈpɛni/, 2 syllables.
Is the surname Penny getting more or less common?: More common. 9,615 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 10,249 in 2010, up 6.6%.
What are other spellings of Penny?: Pennie.
Is Penny also a first name?: Yes. Penny is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.