How common is the surname Pettigrew?

7,958 people in the United States had the surname Pettigrew in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 38,797 Americans. It ranked 4,458th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Pettigrew?

Antonio Pettigrew, American sprint athlete (1967–2010), followed by J. Johnston Pettigrew.

Where is the surname Pettigrew most common?

Wikidata records people named Pettigrew in the United States.

Is the surname Pettigrew getting more or less common?

More common. 7,500 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 7,958 in 2010, up 6.1%.

What are other spellings of Pettigrew?

Pettigru, Pettegre, Petegre, Petigrew, Petticrew and Petegrew.

The surname Pettigrew

A Norman nickname surname, carried by 7,958 people in the United States.

3 syllables Soundex P326

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Pettigrew is more common than 97.3% of them.

Origin

Norman origin

Unknown, although possibly from the French phrase "petit cru" (small growth) from Anglo-Norman French "petit creu", thus as a nickname for a small/short man. Other interpretations include from the French phrase "pie de grue" (crane's foot), i.e., someone with long legs (cf. pedigree, from Anglo-French "pe de gru", a variant of Old French pied de gru, "foot of a crane"). Attested from the 13th century as an English surname.

Pettigrew is a nickname surname: from a description or nickname of an ancestor.

One of 128 Norman surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 7,958 people named Pettigrew in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 38,797 Americans. That is up 6.1% since 2000, when the Census counted 7,500.

#4,458

rank among US surnames

7,958

people in 2010

2.7

per 100,000 Americans

+6.1%

change since 2000 (was #4,379)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#4,449	Alvarenga	7,973	38,724
#4,451	Segal	7,972	38,729
#4,452	Earnest	7,968	38,748
#4,454	Nall	7,966	38,758
#4,455	Clanton	7,965	38,763
#4,456	Geyer	7,962	38,777
#4,457	Bounds	7,960	38,787

Who is named Pettigrew

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

61% of people named Pettigrew identified as white (not Hispanic), 31% as Black (not Hispanic) and 3.2% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 61%
Black (not Hispanic) 31%
Two or more races 3.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native 2.5%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.3%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Pettigrews

4 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Antonio Pettigrew
American sprint athlete (1967–2010)
J. Johnston Pettigrew
American general (1828-1863)
Richard F. Pettigrew
American politician (1848–1926)
Hetty Pettigrew
Art model, 1867–1953

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Pettigru
Pettegre
Petegre
Petigrew
Petticrew
Petegrew
Pettygrew

Pettigrew has the Soundex code P326, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code P326.

Other Norman surnames

All 128 Norman surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Pettigrew come from?: Unknown, although possibly from the French phrase "petit cru" (small growth) from Anglo-Norman French "petit creu", thus as a nickname for a small/short man. Other interpretations include from the French phrase "pie de grue" (crane's foot), i.e., someone with long legs (cf. pedigree, from…
How common is the surname Pettigrew?: 7,958 people in the United States had the surname Pettigrew in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 38,797 Americans. It ranked 4,458th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Pettigrew?: In the 2010 Census, 61% of people named Pettigrew identified as white (not Hispanic), and 31% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Pettigrew?: Antonio Pettigrew, American sprint athlete (1967–2010), followed by J. Johnston Pettigrew.
Where is the surname Pettigrew most common?: Wikidata records people named Pettigrew in the United States.
What type of surname is Pettigrew?: Pettigrew is a nickname surname, from a description or nickname of an ancestor.
Is the surname Pettigrew getting more or less common?: More common. 7,500 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 7,958 in 2010, up 6.1%.
What are other spellings of Pettigrew?: Pettigru, Pettegre, Petegre, Petigrew, Petticrew and Petegrew.