NameCensus.

UK surname

Pender

Derived from a place name meaning "hill slope" in Old English, likely referring to someone who lived there.

In the 1881 census there were 971 people recorded with the Pender surname, ranking it #4,005 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 1,683, ranked #3,716, up from #4,005 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to New Monkland, Sennen and Edinburgh. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Isles of Scilly, Leeds and Stoke-on-Trent.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Pender is 1,713 in 2013. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 73.3%.

1881 census count

971

Ranked #4,005

Modern count

1,683

2016, ranked #3,716

Peak year

2013

1,713 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Pender had 971 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #4,005 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 1,683 in 2016, ranked #3,716.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 1,112 in 1891.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Pender surname distribution map

The map shows where the Pender surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Pender surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Pender over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 681 #3,816
1861 historical 776 #3,550
1881 historical 971 #4,005
1891 historical 1,112 #3,814
1901 historical 1,070 #4,514
1911 historical 620 #6,668
1997 modern 1,581 #3,734
1998 modern 1,657 #3,715
1999 modern 1,655 #3,751
2000 modern 1,666 #3,700
2001 modern 1,618 #3,734
2002 modern 1,677 #3,687
2003 modern 1,616 #3,730
2004 modern 1,604 #3,774
2005 modern 1,592 #3,742
2006 modern 1,599 #3,737
2007 modern 1,625 #3,723
2008 modern 1,617 #3,759
2009 modern 1,667 #3,746
2010 modern 1,695 #3,772
2011 modern 1,683 #3,744
2012 modern 1,686 #3,669
2013 modern 1,713 #3,681
2014 modern 1,708 #3,702
2015 modern 1,671 #3,744
2016 modern 1,683 #3,716

Geography

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Where Penders are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around New Monkland, Sennen, Edinburgh, Paul and Glasgow. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Isles of Scilly, Leeds, Stoke-on-Trent, Kilsyth Bogside and Cornwall. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 New Monkland Lanark
2 Sennen Cornwall
3 Edinburgh Edinburgh
4 Paul Cornwall
5 Glasgow Lanark

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Isles of Scilly 001 Isles of Scilly
2 Leeds 097 Leeds
3 Stoke-on-Trent 006 Stoke-on-Trent
4 Kilsyth Bogside North Lanarkshire
5 Cornwall 070 Cornwall

Forenames

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First names often paired with Pender

These lists show first names that appear often with the Pender surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Pender

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Pender, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce

Group

Established but Challenged

Nationally, the Pender surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Established but Challenged, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Pender household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many households in these neighbourhoods comprise separated or divorced single parents with dependent children. Residents are typically born in the UK, and these neighbourhoods have relatively few members of ethnic minorities. The prevalence of children, their parents and those at or above normal retirement age, suggests neighbourhood structures may be long-established. Levels of unpaid care are high, and long-term disability is more common than in the Supergroup as a whole. Use of the social rented sector is common, often in terraced houses. Levels of overcrowding are above the Supergroup average. Unemployment is high, while those in work are employed in elementary occupations such as caring, leisure and customer services. Many residents have low level qualifications. Neighbourhood concentrations of this Group are found in the South Wales Valleys, Belfast, Londonderry and the Central Lowlands of Scotland.

Wider pattern

Living in terraced or semi-detached houses, residents of these neighbourhoods typically lack high levels of education and work in elementary or routine service occupations. Unemployment is above average. Residents are predominantly born in the UK, and residents are also predominantly from ethnic minorities. Social (but not private sector) rented sector housing is common. This Supergroup is found throughout the UK’s conurbations and industrial regions but is also an integral part of smaller towns.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Social Rented Sector Families with Children

Group

Social Rented Sector Pockets

Within London, Pender is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Pockets, part of Social Rented Sector Families with Children. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Found in pockets across London, residents are less likely to live in private sector rentals and fewer adults are students. Fewer individuals work in transport and communications occupations relative to the Supergroup average. More individuals identify as Black and were born in Africa.

Wider London pattern

Residents of these neighbourhoods include sizable numbers identifying with ethnicities originating outside Europe, particularly in Africa or Bangladesh. The proportion of residents identifying as White, Indian or Pakistani is well below the London average. Neighbourhood age profiles are skewed towards younger adults, and above average numbers of families have children. Rates of use of English at home are below average. Marriage rates are low, and levels of separation or divorce are above average. Housing is predominantly in flats, and renting in the social rented sector the norm - few residents are owner occupiers. Housing is often overcrowded, and neighbourhoods are amongst the most densely populated in London. Disability rates are above average, although levels of unpaid care provision are about average. Employment is in caring, leisure, other service occupations, sales and customer service, or process, plant, and machine operation. Part time working and full-time student study are common. Levels of unemployment are slightly above average. Most residents have only Level 1 or 2 educational qualifications or have completed apprenticeships.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Pender is most concentrated in decile 1 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

1
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Pender falls in decile 3 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

3
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Pender is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of Over 70 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

10
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Pender, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Pender

The surname Pender is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "pender," which was a nickname for a keeper or manager of the pinfold, an enclosure where stray animals were kept until claimed by their owners. This name first appeared in the 12th century in the counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Pender can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1166, which mention a Roger Pender. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 also include entries for individuals with the surname Pender, such as Robert le Pender from Oxfordshire.

In the 13th century, the Pender surname was also found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of land ownership commissioned by William the Conqueror. This document listed several individuals with similar spellings like "Pyndere" and "Pendere" in various counties across England.

The Pender name has also been associated with various place names throughout history. For instance, the village of Penderyn in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, was formerly known as "Penderyn" in the 16th century, which may have been derived from the Old English words "pen" (hill) and "dwr" (water).

Notable individuals with the surname Pender include Sir John Pender (1815-1896), a British businessman and pioneer in the laying of submarine telegraph cables; Thomas Pender (1800-1870), an Irish-born Australian explorer and surveyor; and Wilfred Pender (1893-1986), a British artist and wood engraver.

Other notable Penders throughout history include Sir John Pender Jr. (1857-1927), who succeeded his father as chairman of the Eastern Telegraph Company; Samuel Pender (1804-1883), an English-born Canadian businessman and politician; and James Pender (1832-1897), a Scottish-born Australian politician and journalist.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Pender families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Pender surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Cornwall leads with 206 Penders recorded in 1881 and an index of 19.17x.

County Total Index
Cornwall 206 19.17x
Lanarkshire 166 5.41x
Lancashire 152 1.35x
Midlothian 59 4.64x
Stirlingshire 51 14.57x
West Lothian 29 20.29x
Middlesex 25 0.26x
Renfrewshire 25 3.40x
Roxburghshire 19 11.05x
Surrey 18 0.39x
Sussex 17 1.06x
Yorkshire 17 0.18x
Cheshire 15 0.72x
Devon 15 0.76x
Dunbartonshire 15 5.88x
Perthshire 13 3.05x
Angus 12 1.36x
Durham 12 0.43x
Argyllshire 11 4.16x
Nottinghamshire 11 0.86x
Staffordshire 10 0.31x
Kent 9 0.28x
Northumberland 9 0.64x
Dumfriesshire 8 3.82x
Gloucestershire 6 0.32x
Hampshire 6 0.31x
Norfolk 5 0.34x
Nairnshire 4 13.81x
Aberdeenshire 3 0.34x
Fife 3 0.53x
Glamorgan 3 0.18x
Royal Navy 3 2.65x
Cumberland 2 0.24x
Essex 2 0.11x
Flintshire 2 0.78x
Pembrokeshire 2 0.66x
Buteshire 1 1.74x
Denbighshire 1 0.28x
Dorset 1 0.16x
Kirkcudbrightshire 1 0.73x
Radnorshire 1 1.31x
Rutland 1 1.43x
Somerset 1 0.07x
Warwickshire 1 0.04x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Scilly Islands St Mary in Cornwall leads with 56 Penders recorded in 1881 and an index of 1336.52x.

Place Total Index
Scilly Islands St Mary 56 1336.52x
Sennen 40 1680.67x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 39 7.62x
Scilly Islands 36 1865.29x
Liverpool 31 4.53x
Paul 31 158.81x
Barony 30 3.86x
Falkirk 24 29.29x
Manchester 24 4.74x
Old Monkland 24 19.70x
Cambusnethan 23 33.73x
Scilly Islands Bryher 21 6363.64x
Toxteth Park 21 5.51x
Kirkdale 18 9.50x
Bathgate 17 54.79x
New Monkland 17 18.73x
Glasgow 16 2.94x
Govan 12 1.58x
Hutton Henry 12 201.68x
Abbey 11 9.80x
Brighton 10 3.10x
Madron Penzance 10 25.59x
Chorlton On Medlock 9 5.03x
Kilmore Kilbride 9 53.67x
Denny 8 42.96x
Dryfesdale 8 82.82x
Eastwood 8 69.93x
Everton 8 2.23x
Shotts 8 21.78x
Stoke Damerel 8 5.79x
Widnes 8 9.85x
Wilton 8 42.42x
Bothwell 7 8.41x
Dalserf 7 22.85x
Dun 7 397.73x
Kilsyth 7 31.36x
Logie 7 45.81x
Wolstanton 7 7.19x
Ardwick 6 5.91x
Birkenhead 6 3.59x
Cathcart 6 15.08x
Dumbarton 6 16.90x
Huddersfield 6 4.38x
Linton 6 335.20x
Shettleston 6 21.83x
Stirling 6 13.59x
Whitburn 6 29.06x
Bromley London 5 2.39x
Cumbernauld 5 35.77x
Deptford St Paul 5 2.00x
Great Yarmouth 5 4.14x
Lambeth 5 0.60x
Limehouse London 5 4.80x
Logierait 5 66.67x
Mid Calder 5 90.74x
Tarporley 5 113.90x
Battersea 4 1.15x
Edinburgh Canongate 4 12.36x
English Bicknor 4 194.17x
Falmouth 4 10.52x
Felton 4 181.00x
Lanark 4 16.19x
Maryhill 4 6.66x
Nairn 4 22.75x
Newton Abbot St Mary 4 24.14x
Penicuik 4 23.15x
Portsea 4 1.05x
Rusholme 4 13.32x
Salford 4 1.21x
Scilly Islands St Agnes 4 833.33x
St Pancras London 4 0.52x
Wimbledon 4 7.70x
Windle 4 6.31x
Blantyre 3 9.39x
Cavers 3 69.77x
Dundee 3 0.91x
Easington In Patrington 3 241.94x
Edinburgh St Stephens 3 11.99x
Lewes All Sts 3 47.10x
Openshaw 3 5.69x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Pender surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 50
Elizabeth 20
Sarah 19
Jane 15
Margaret 13
Ellen 10
Eliza 9
Ann 8
Emma 8
Anne 6
Annie 6
Catherine 6
Kate 5
Bridget 4
Susan 4
Amelia 3
Amy 3
Charlotte 3
Edith 3
Florence 3
Isabella 3
Laura 3
Maria 3
Rose 3
Sophia 3
Ada 2
Agnes 2
Alice 2
Beatrice 2
Bertha 2
Caroline 2
Delias 2
Francis 2
Grace 2
Hannah 2
Harriet 2
Joice 2
Lizzie 2
Louisa 2
Matilda 2
Nancy 2
Rebecca 2
Augusta 1
Bats 1
Dorothy 1
Emerlina 1
Emily 1
Josephine 1
Julia 1
Varoniece 1

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Pender surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
John 41
William 33
James 24
Thomas 22
Richard 13
Michael 11
Robert 11
George 10
Peter 7
Samuel 5
Charles 4
Francis 4
Henry 4
Joseph 4
Albert 3
Benjamin 3
Daniel 3
Frederick 3
Mark 3
Patrick 3
Stephen 3
Thos. 3
Bernard 2
Martin 2
Matthew 2
Reginald 2
Wm. 2
Andrew 1
Cecil 1
Chas.M. 1
David 1
Denis 1
Douglas 1
Edgar 1
Frank 1
Fred 1
Harold 1
Harry 1
Herbert 1
Hosea 1
Howard 1
Ignatius 1
Ishmael 1
Joshua 1
Julius 1
Luke 1
Matthias 1
Michl. 1
Owen 1
Ralph 1

FAQ

Pender surname: questions and answers

How common was the Pender surname in 1881?

In 1881, 971 people were recorded with the Pender surname. That placed it at #4,005 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Pender surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 1,683 in 2016. That gives Pender a modern rank of #3,716.

What does the Pender surname mean?

Derived from a place name meaning "hill slope" in Old English, likely referring to someone who lived there.

What does the Pender map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Pender bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.