How common is the surname Penrose?

2,806 people in the United States had the surname Penrose in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 110,030 Americans. It ranked 11,269th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Penrose?

Beryl Penrose, Australian tennis player (1930–2021), followed by Roland Penrose.

Where is the surname Penrose most common?

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

Is the surname Penrose getting more or less common?

More common. 2,704 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 2,806 in 2010, up 3.8%.

The surname Penrose

A Cornish surname, carried by 2,806 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex P562

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Penrose is more common than 93.1% of them.

Origin

Cornish origin

From Cornish penn (“head”) + ros (“moor, heathland”).

One of 18 Cornish surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 2,806 people named Penrose in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 110,030 Americans. That is up 3.8% since 2000, when the Census counted 2,704.

#11,269

rank among US surnames

2,806

people in 2010

0.9

per 100,000 Americans

+3.8%

change since 2000 (was #10,821)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#11,264	Buskirk	2,807	109,991
#11,269	Eckard	2,806	110,030
#11,272	Yeo	2,805	110,070
#11,273	Gallman	2,804	110,109
#11,275	Keese	2,802	110,188

Who is named Penrose

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

89% of people named Penrose identified as white (not Hispanic), 3.9% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 89%
Black (not Hispanic) 3.9%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.6%
Two or more races 2.6%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.1%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.4%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Penroses

6 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Beryl Penrose
Australian tennis player (1930–2021)
Roland Penrose
British artist and art historian (1900-1984)
Edith Penrose
American-born British economist, 1914–1996
R. A. F. Penrose Jr.
American mining geologist and entrepreneur (1863–1931)
Emily Penrose
British academic & college principal, 1858–1942
Elaine Breeden
American swimmer, born 1988

Notable Penroses come mostly from the United States (3), the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (2) and Australia (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Bemrose

Penrose has the Soundex code P562, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code P562.

Other Cornish surnames

All 18 Cornish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Penrose come from?: From Cornish penn (“head”) + ros (“moor, heathland”).
How common is the surname Penrose?: 2,806 people in the United States had the surname Penrose in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 110,030 Americans. It ranked 11,269th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Penrose?: In the 2010 Census, 89% of people named Penrose identified as white (not Hispanic), and 3.9% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Penrose?: Beryl Penrose, Australian tennis player (1930–2021), followed by Roland Penrose.
Where is the surname Penrose most common?: Wikidata records people named Penrose in the United States, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Australia.
Is the surname Penrose getting more or less common?: More common. 2,704 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 2,806 in 2010, up 3.8%.
What are other spellings of Penrose?: Bemrose.