Pontefract Surname

919,444th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 288 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
England
Highest density in:
Wales

Pontefract Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Pontefract,' Yorkshire As everybody knows, Pomfret is the usual pronunciation, and has been for many centuries.

Robert Pumfret, Norfolk, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Thomas le Lang, de Pontefracto, 3 Edward II: Freemen of York.

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Pontefract Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England1791:311,27423,420
United States511:7,107,038327,397
Australia181:1,499,76175,721
Wales141:221,03813,576
Canada101:3,684,559191,443
France81:8,302,840321,660
Belgium11:11,496,644167,539
Honduras11:8,816,4429,272
Italy11:61,156,688199,583
Jordan11:8,842,43726,010
New Zealand11:4,528,32355,372
Spain11:46,752,036156,870
Thailand11:70,638,3451,175,915
United Arab Emirates11:9,162,273135,437
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England2051:118,90411,373
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States71:7,174,098302,835

Pontefract Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Pontefract,' Yorkshire As everybody knows, Pomfret is the usual pronunciation, and has been for many centuries.

Robert Pumfret, Norfolk, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Thomas le Lang, de Pontefracto, 3 Edward II: Freemen of York.

Johannes de Poumefrgyte, 1370: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

1579. Garrett Florence and Catherine Pomfrett: Marriage Lic. (London).

1776. Married — William Pomfrett and Sarah Burton: St. George, Hanover Square.

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

Of local origin from Pontefract in Yorkshire, of which, says Rardsley, "as everybody knows, Pomfret is the usual pronunciation, and has been for many centuries." Andrew of Ponfret of Lanark was one of those appointed in 1357 to treat for the ransom of David 11 (CDE., p. 20). Andrew de Pumfrete or Pumfret was juror on an inquest in Edinburgh, c. 1402-05 (Egidii, p. 39, 41). John Pontfret, servant of the king of Scodand, had a safe conduct to go from England to Bruges in 1423, and two years later Thomas Pountfrette, servitor of James of Sandilande, had a similar safe conduct (Bain, IV, 936,986).

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

(Anglo-Latin) belonging to Pontefract (Yorks) = Broken Bridge [Latin pons, pont-is, a bridge + fract-us, broken] “It was called by the Saxons [sic] Kirkby, but after the Conquest obtained the name of ‘Pontfract,’ from the breaking down of the bridge over the river Aire by the Northumbrian insurgents in 1070 to arrest the progress of William the Conqueror, who was in pursuit with a formidable army.”—Nat. Gaz.

But the foregoing statement is said to be doubtful.

Pontefract was Latinized in our records as Ponsfractus (de Pontefracto).

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

A corruption of Pontefract in Yorkshire, which was written in the XV. cent. Powndefraite.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Pontefract Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Pontefract Come From? nationality or country of origin

The surname Pontefract is found most frequently in England. It can also appear as:. Click here for further possible spellings of this name.

How Common Is The Last Name Pontefract? popularity and diffusion

The last name is the 919,444th most frequently used last name on a worldwide basis. It is borne by around 1 in 25,303,979 people. This surname is primarily found in Europe, where 71 percent of Pontefract live; 67 percent live in Northern Europe and 67 percent live in British Isles.

It is most commonly occurring in England, where it is held by 179 people, or 1 in 311,274. In England Pontefract is mostly concentrated in: Bedfordshire, where 18 percent reside, West Yorkshire, where 13 percent reside and South Yorkshire, where 12 percent reside. Barring England Pontefract is found in 13 countries. It is also found in The United States, where 18 percent reside and Australia, where 6 percent reside.

Pontefract Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The frequency of Pontefract has changed through the years. In England the number of people carrying the Pontefract surname decreased 13 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in The United States it increased 729 percent between 1880 and 2014.

Pontefract Last Name Statistics demography

In The United States Pontefract are 23.23% more likely to be registered Republicans than the national average, with 70% registered to vote for the party.

The amount Pontefract earn in different countries varies markedly. In United States they earn 21.03% less than the national average, earning $34,076 USD per year and in Canada they earn 20.42% more than the national average, earning $59,828 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Pontefracte950/
Pontifract901/
Pontafract900/

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Pontefract
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis