Renfrew Surname

194,204th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 2,164 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Scotland

Renfrew Surname Definition:

Of local origin from the town of the same name in Renfrewshire. Adam de Reynfru of the county of Edeneburk rendered homage in 1296 (Bain, II, p. 201), and Robert Reynreu or Reynfru, a Scots prisoner of war from Stirling, was incarcerated in the Castle of Old Sarum between 1304-07 (Bain, II, 1644, 1668, 1944).

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Renfrew Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States9901:366,12032,549
Scotland4441:12,0581,616
England2851:195,50217,195
Australia2231:121,05713,326
Canada1491:247,28623,510
Portugal281:372,08012,265
New Zealand141:323,45226,435
South Africa131:4,167,516132,322
Wales31:1,031,51134,732
Hong Kong21:3,667,74211,574
Netherlands21:8,443,588136,641
Germany21:40,252,730481,636
Spain21:23,376,018128,922
United Arab Emirates21:4,581,13693,443
Northern Ireland11:1,845,03620,648
France11:66,422,722504,397
Thailand11:70,638,3451,175,915
Malaysia11:29,494,225409,885
India11:767,065,3821,851,717
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland51:885,97323,404
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Scotland4621:8,1021,103
England181:1,354,18747,798
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States3191:157,42514,458

Renfrew (26) may also be a first name.

Renfrew Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

Of local origin from the town of the same name in Renfrewshire. Adam de Reynfru of the county of Edeneburk rendered homage in 1296 (Bain, II, p. 201), and Robert Reynreu or Reynfru, a Scots prisoner of war from Stirling, was incarcerated in the Castle of Old Sarum between 1304-07 (Bain, II, 1644, 1668, 1944). Galfridus Renfrew appears in Aberdeen, 1408 (CWA., p. 315). Bartholomew Renfrew appears as a charter witness in Glasgow in 1481 (LCD., p. 194). Robert Renfrew in Abbey parish. Paisley, 1772 (Kilbarchan). Andrew Renfrew in Eaglesham died in 1939.

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

(Celtic) belonging to Renfrew, 12th cent. Reinfrew, Renfrew, Renfriu [perh. from the old forms of Welsh rhin, a channel, and ffrew, stillness]

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

The Scottish town giving name to Renfrewshire.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Renfrew Last Name Facts

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

Renfrew is borne by more people in The United States than any other country/territory. It may be rendered in the variant forms:. Click here for further possible spellings of this surname.

How Common Is The Last Name Renfrew? popularity and diffusion

Renfrew is the 194,204th most commonly held last name at a global level, held by around 1 in 3,367,628 people. The surname Renfrew occurs mostly in The Americas, where 53 percent of Renfrew are found; 53 percent are found in North America and 53 percent are found in Anglo-North America. It is also the 2,084,397th most commonly held given name globally It is held by 26 people.

The surname Renfrew is most frequently used in The United States, where it is borne by 990 people, or 1 in 366,120. In The United States it is primarily concentrated in: California, where 15 percent are found, Pennsylvania, where 11 percent are found and Texas, where 8 percent are found. Not including The United States Renfrew is found in 18 countries. It is also found in Scotland, where 21 percent are found and England, where 13 percent are found.

Renfrew Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of Renfrew has changed through the years. In The United States the share of the population with the surname grew 310 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Scotland it declined 4 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in England it grew 1,583 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Renfrew Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those holding the Renfrew last name is chiefly Presbyterian (100%) in Ireland.

In The United States those holding the Renfrew last name are 5.72% more likely to be registered Republicans than the national average, with 52.49% being registered to vote for the political party.

The amount Renfrew earn in different countries varies markedly. In South Africa they earn 50.01% more than the national average, earning R 356,484 per year; in United States they earn 20.1% more than the national average, earning $51,820 USD per year and in Canada they earn 10.64% more than the national average, earning $54,968 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Renferew931/
Wrenfrew930/
Renfrow865,438/
Renfraw861/
Ronfrew860/
Wrenfrow80104/
Reinfrow802/
Renifrow802/
Renefrow801/
Roenfrow801/
Rainfrew800/
Renfroow800/
Rinfrow7110/
Ranfrow713/
Ronfrow712/
Ranfraw710/
Rainfrow670/

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Renfrew Reference & Research

Renfro DNA Project DNA Website - A web page dedicated to the genetic research of those who bear the surname and its variants.

Renfro DNA Project FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

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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 Renfrew
  • 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