NameCensus.

UK surname

Penman

An occupational surname referring to a scribe, writer, or one who worked with a pen.

In the 1881 census there were 1,965 people recorded with the Penman surname, ranking it #2,232 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 3,695, ranked #1,848, up from #2,232 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to New Monkland, Beath and Gateshead. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Cardenden, Cowdenbeath North and Kirkcaldy Linktown & Seafield.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Penman is 3,765 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 88.0%.

1881 census count

1,965

Ranked #2,232

Modern count

3,695

2016, ranked #1,848

Peak year

2010

3,765 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Penman had 1,965 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #2,232 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 3,695 in 2016, ranked #1,848.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 2,680 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Penman surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Penman surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Penman 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 1,304 #2,199
1861 historical 1,436 #1,979
1881 historical 1,965 #2,232
1891 historical 2,284 #2,047
1901 historical 2,680 #2,063
1911 historical 765 #5,661
1997 modern 3,504 #1,849
1998 modern 3,609 #1,876
1999 modern 3,614 #1,881
2000 modern 3,651 #1,856
2001 modern 3,570 #1,848
2002 modern 3,670 #1,843
2003 modern 3,566 #1,848
2004 modern 3,581 #1,846
2005 modern 3,563 #1,838
2006 modern 3,572 #1,826
2007 modern 3,571 #1,846
2008 modern 3,611 #1,832
2009 modern 3,693 #1,838
2010 modern 3,765 #1,848
2011 modern 3,679 #1,866
2012 modern 3,605 #1,865
2013 modern 3,657 #1,879
2014 modern 3,717 #1,859
2015 modern 3,684 #1,859
2016 modern 3,695 #1,848

Geography

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Where Penmans are most common

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

The modern local-area list points to Cardenden, Cowdenbeath North, Kirkcaldy Linktown & Seafield, Braes Villages and Shieldhill. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 New Monkland Lanark
2 Beath Fife
3 Gateshead Durham
4 Edinburgh Edinburgh
5 Glasgow Lanark

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Cardenden Fife
2 Cowdenbeath North Fife
3 Kirkcaldy Linktown & Seafield Fife
4 Braes Villages Falkirk
5 Shieldhill Falkirk

Forenames

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First names often paired with Penman

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Penman

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Penman, 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 Penman surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Established but Challenged, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Penman 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

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Penman is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. 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

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Penman 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

Penman 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 Penman 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 Penman, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Penman

The surname Penman is of English origin and derives from the occupation of a professional scribe or clerk in medieval times. It is a compound word formed from the elements 'pen' and 'man', referring to someone who made a living by writing with a pen.

Historically, Penman was predominantly found in various counties across England, including Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Lincolnshire. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the late 13th century, with one of the earliest known bearers being William le Penman, mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1275.

During the 14th and 15th centuries, the name appeared in various ecclesiastical and legal records, such as the Calendars of Wills and the Feet of Fines. One notable example is John Penman, a clerk from Yorkshire, who is mentioned in the Calendars of Wills in 1392.

In the 16th century, the Penman surname gained further prominence. Thomas Penman, born in 1535 in Lincolnshire, was a renowned scholar and writer who authored several works on mathematics and astronomy. Another prominent figure was William Penman, a merchant from London, who is recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of 1592.

As the centuries progressed, the Penman name continued to be well-represented across various fields. In the 18th century, James Penman (1709-1779) was a Scottish minister and author, known for his work "A New and Compendious System of Shorthand." Meanwhile, in the 19th century, John Penman (1838-1912) was a prominent English architect responsible for designing several notable buildings in London.

Other notable bearers of the Penman surname include Sir John Penman (1864-1941), a Scottish businessman and philanthropist, and Lewis Penman (1898-1971), an American artist known for his landscape paintings of the American West.

While the name Penman has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including Scotland, Ireland, and the United States, where descendants of early English and Scottish migrants have carried on the legacy of this historic surname.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Penman families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Penman 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. Fife leads with 456 Penmans recorded in 1881 and an index of 40.31x.

County Total Index
Fife 456 40.31x
Lanarkshire 364 5.89x
Midlothian 231 9.02x
Stirlingshire 210 29.79x
Durham 150 2.64x
Northumberland 68 2.39x
Surrey 65 0.70x
Clackmannanshire 53 33.58x
Angus 47 2.65x
Lancashire 44 0.19x
Middlesex 33 0.17x
Kent 29 0.44x
Yorkshire 26 0.14x
Kinross-shire 24 49.68x
Dumfriesshire 13 3.08x
Renfrewshire 13 0.88x
Ayrshire 11 0.77x
Kirkcudbrightshire 11 3.98x
Sussex 11 0.34x
West Lothian 11 3.82x
Argyllshire 10 1.88x
Suffolk 9 0.39x
Wigtownshire 9 3.55x
Dunbartonshire 7 1.36x
Monmouthshire 6 0.43x
Peeblesshire 6 6.67x
Roxburghshire 6 1.73x
Selkirkshire 6 3.47x
Berwickshire 4 1.73x
Perthshire 4 0.47x
Devon 3 0.08x
Hampshire 3 0.08x
Royal Navy 3 1.32x
East Lothian 2 0.79x
Inverness-shire 2 0.35x
Aberdeenshire 1 0.06x
Buteshire 1 0.86x
Cornwall 1 0.05x
Cumberland 1 0.06x
Essex 1 0.03x
Glamorgan 1 0.03x
Norfolk 1 0.03x
Pembrokeshire 1 0.16x
Westmorland 1 0.24x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Dunfermline in Fife leads with 133 Penmans recorded in 1881 and an index of 76.46x.

Place Total Index
Dunfermline 133 76.46x
Beath 100 279.72x
Dysart 71 93.20x
Barony 60 3.84x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 58 5.63x
Falkirk 53 32.12x
New Monkland 50 27.37x
Auchterderran 49 172.29x
Govan 45 2.94x
Lambeth 40 2.40x
Bothkennar 38 180.61x
Dundee 37 5.60x
Larbert 36 85.45x
Slamannan 35 90.70x
Cambusnethan 33 24.04x
Liberton 31 78.44x
Inveresk 29 41.84x
Gateshead 28 6.58x
Tillicoultry 28 79.75x
Bothwell 26 15.51x
Dalgety 25 289.35x
Old Monkland 22 8.97x
Dalserf 21 34.05x
Glasgow 21 1.91x
Whickham 21 40.15x
Kirkcaldy 20 35.64x
Leslie 20 69.83x
Hamilton 18 10.44x
Polmont 18 69.18x
Darlington 17 7.74x
Elswick 16 7.05x
Maryhill 16 13.23x
Tynemouth 16 10.51x
Alloa 14 18.29x
Fossoway 13 156.63x
Westoe 13 4.03x
Horton In Bradford 12 4.06x
Dalziel 11 16.54x
Denny 11 29.34x
Dollar 11 67.28x
Everton 11 1.52x
Glencorse 11 111.90x
Kelton 11 48.42x
Kinglassie 11 127.61x
Wigan 11 3.47x
Dalkeith 10 19.80x
Kilmore Kilbride 10 29.61x
Cleish 9 276.07x
Gravesend 9 16.30x
Inverkeithing 9 52.79x
Lamesley 9 29.41x
Lowestoft 9 8.19x
South Shields 9 17.77x
Stranraer 9 38.78x
Auchtertool 8 170.94x
Edinburgh Greenside 8 23.65x
Edinburgh St Stephens 8 15.88x
Hastings Holy Trinity 8 33.68x
Hetton Le Hole 8 11.10x
Newbattle 8 36.56x
Stirling 8 9.00x
Whitburn 8 19.24x
Bishopwearmouth 7 1.43x
Dorking 7 11.20x
Douglas 7 39.28x
Hedworth Monkton Jarrow 7 2.84x
Manchester 7 0.69x
Mile End Old Town 7 2.32x
Muiravonside 7 39.11x
Strathmartine 7 89.17x
Battersea 6 0.85x
Colinton 6 21.02x
Coundon Grange 6 48.12x
Edinburgh Lady Yesters 6 33.84x
Hawick 6 7.74x
Kirknewton 6 81.52x
Newcastle On Tyne St 6 4.07x
Stoke Newington London 6 4.03x
West Linton 6 81.86x
Westgate 6 3.41x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 41
Jane 14
Margaret 13
Elizabeth 10
Sarah 10
Ann 8
Ellen 6
Emma 6
Isabella 6
Alice 5
Catherine 5
Emily 5
Margt. 5
Agnes 4
Eliza 4
Elizth. 4
Hannah 4
Jessie 4
Esther 3
Julia 3
Amelia 2
Anne 2
Annie 2
Barbara 2
Christiana 2
Christina 2
Edith 2
Ethel 2
Euphemia 2
Jemima 2
Martha 2
Anna 1
Catharine 1
Catheren 1
Cathrine 1
E.Lilian 1
Elizbth. 1
Elizebth. 1
Emelina 1
Harriett 1
Helena 1
Henrietta 1
Hester 1
Ida 1
Isa 1
Joseph 1
Josephine 1
Kate 1
Lizzie 1
Susannah 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 30
John 24
Thomas 22
George 17
Andrew 16
James 16
Henry 8
Charles 7
Edward 6
Robert 6
Joseph 5
Wm. 5
Lancelot 4
Mathew 4
Richard 4
Walter 4
Arthur 3
Frederick 3
Matthew 3
Samuel 3
Adam 2
Albert 2
Alexander 2
Alfred 2
Christopher 2
Edwin 2
Ernest 2
Geo. 2
Herbert 2
Hugh 2
Peter 2
Surtees 2
Chris 1
Cornelius 1
Earnest 1
Edgar 1
Fredrick. 1
Gabriel 1
Horace 1
I.Arnold 1
Jas.M. 1
Jno. 1
Lance 1
Leonard 1
Michael 1
Osmund 1
Philip 1
Ralph 1
Robt. 1
Septimus 1

FAQ

Penman surname: questions and answers

How common was the Penman surname in 1881?

In 1881, 1,965 people were recorded with the Penman surname. That placed it at #2,232 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Penman surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 3,695 in 2016. That gives Penman a modern rank of #1,848.

What does the Penman surname mean?

An occupational surname referring to a scribe, writer, or one who worked with a pen.

What does the Penman map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Penman 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.