diff --git a/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/base/left-pad/lib/main.js b/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/base/left-pad/lib/main.js
index d7c357cf4019..ff676f22a60e 100644
--- a/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/base/left-pad/lib/main.js
+++ b/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/base/left-pad/lib/main.js
@@ -21,16 +21,17 @@
 // MODULES //
 
 var repeat = require( '@stdlib/string/base/repeat' );
+var numGraphemeClusters = require( '@stdlib/string/num-grapheme-clusters' );
 var ceil = require( '@stdlib/math/base/special/ceil' );
 
 
 // MAIN //
 
 /**
-* Left pads a string such that the padded string has a length of at least `len`.
+* Left pads a string such that the padded string has a length of at least `len` grapheme clusters (i.e., user-perceived characters).
 *
 * @param {string} str - string to pad
-* @param {NonNegativeInteger} len - minimum string length
+* @param {NonNegativeInteger} len - minimum string length (in grapheme clusters)
 * @param {string} pad - string used to pad
 * @returns {string} padded string
 *
@@ -45,9 +46,14 @@ var ceil = require( '@stdlib/math/base/special/ceil' );
 * @example
 * var str = lpad( 'boop', 12, 'beep' );
 * // returns 'beepbeepboop'
+*
+* @example
+* // Padding counts grapheme clusters, not UTF-16 code units, so a surrogate pair counts as one character:
+* var str = lpad( '😀', 3, 'x' );
+* // returns 'xx😀'
 */
 function lpad( str, len, pad ) {
-	var n = ( len - str.length ) / pad.length;
+	var n = ( len - numGraphemeClusters( str ) ) / numGraphemeClusters( pad );
 	if ( n <= 0 ) {
 		return str;
 	}
diff --git a/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/base/left-pad/test/test.js b/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/base/left-pad/test/test.js
index 99b3e0f5d0fa..433747ad7700 100644
--- a/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/base/left-pad/test/test.js
+++ b/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/base/left-pad/test/test.js
@@ -55,3 +55,21 @@ tape( 'if the specified string length is less than or equal to the input string
 	t.strictEqual( lpad( 'boop', 4, 'beep' ), 'boop', 'returns input string (=)' );
 	t.end();
 });
+
+tape( 'the function measures string length in grapheme clusters, not UTF-16 code units, so a string containing a surrogate pair is treated as one character', function test( t ) {
+	var str = lpad( '😀', 3, 'x' );
+	t.strictEqual( str, 'xx😀', 'pads based on grapheme cluster count' );
+	t.end();
+});
+
+tape( 'the function supports padding with a multi-code-unit pad string without splitting a surrogate pair', function test( t ) {
+	var str = lpad( 'a', 3, '😀' );
+	t.strictEqual( str, '😀😀a', 'repeats the whole pad character' );
+	t.end();
+});
+
+tape( 'KNOWN LIMITATION: if the pad string is a bare Unicode combining mark, repeating it does not increase the grapheme cluster count (per UAX #29 GB9, consecutive Extend characters merge into one cluster), so the output may fall short of the requested length', function test( t ) {
+	var str = lpad( 'a', 5, '̈' ); // U+0308 COMBINING DIAERESIS
+	t.strictEqual( str, '̈̈̈̈a', 'pinned current behavior; result has only 2 grapheme clusters, not 5' );
+	t.end();
+});
diff --git a/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/base/right-pad/lib/main.js b/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/base/right-pad/lib/main.js
index f1e803efab2b..9285b62b4fd4 100644
--- a/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/base/right-pad/lib/main.js
+++ b/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/base/right-pad/lib/main.js
@@ -21,16 +21,17 @@
 // MODULES //
 
 var repeat = require( '@stdlib/string/base/repeat' );
+var numGraphemeClusters = require( '@stdlib/string/num-grapheme-clusters' );
 var ceil = require( '@stdlib/math/base/special/ceil' );
 
 
 // MAIN //
 
 /**
-* Right pads a string such that the padded string has a length of at least `len`.
+* Right pads a string such that the padded string has a length of at least `len` grapheme clusters (i.e., user-perceived characters).
 *
 * @param {string} str - string to pad
-* @param {NonNegativeInteger} len - minimum string length
+* @param {NonNegativeInteger} len - minimum string length (in grapheme clusters)
 * @param {string} pad - string used to pad
 * @returns {string} padded string
 *
@@ -45,9 +46,14 @@ var ceil = require( '@stdlib/math/base/special/ceil' );
 * @example
 * var str = rpad( 'boop', 12, 'beep' );
 * // returns 'boopbeepbeep'
+*
+* @example
+* // Padding counts grapheme clusters, not UTF-16 code units, so a surrogate pair counts as one character:
+* var str = rpad( '😀', 3, 'x' );
+* // returns '😀xx'
 */
 function rpad( str, len, pad ) {
-	var n = ( len - str.length ) / pad.length;
+	var n = ( len - numGraphemeClusters( str ) ) / numGraphemeClusters( pad );
 	if ( n <= 0 ) {
 		return str;
 	}
diff --git a/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/base/right-pad/test/test.js b/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/base/right-pad/test/test.js
index f7321fc9b505..e27bd111d8fa 100644
--- a/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/base/right-pad/test/test.js
+++ b/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/base/right-pad/test/test.js
@@ -55,3 +55,21 @@ tape( 'if the specified string length is less than or equal to the input string
 	t.strictEqual( rpad( 'boop', 4, 'beep' ), 'boop', 'returns input string (=)' );
 	t.end();
 });
+
+tape( 'the function measures string length in grapheme clusters, not UTF-16 code units, so a string containing a surrogate pair is treated as one character', function test( t ) {
+	var str = rpad( '😀', 3, 'x' );
+	t.strictEqual( str, '😀xx', 'pads based on grapheme cluster count' );
+	t.end();
+});
+
+tape( 'the function supports padding with a multi-code-unit pad string without splitting a surrogate pair', function test( t ) {
+	var str = rpad( 'a', 3, '😀' );
+	t.strictEqual( str, 'a😀😀', 'repeats the whole pad character' );
+	t.end();
+});
+
+tape( 'KNOWN LIMITATION: if the pad string is a bare Unicode combining mark, repeating it does not increase the grapheme cluster count (per UAX #29 GB9, consecutive Extend characters merge into the preceding cluster), so the output may fall short of the requested length', function test( t ) {
+	var str = rpad( 'a', 5, '̈' ); // U+0308 COMBINING DIAERESIS
+	t.strictEqual( str, 'ä̈̈̈', 'pinned current behavior; result has only 1 grapheme cluster, not 5' );
+	t.end();
+});
diff --git a/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/left-pad/README.md b/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/left-pad/README.md
index 45066f7970a1..d50613eb2717 100644
--- a/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/left-pad/README.md
+++ b/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/left-pad/README.md
@@ -32,13 +32,19 @@ var lpad = require( '@stdlib/string/left-pad' );
 
 #### lpad( str, len\[, pad] )
 
-Left pads a string such that the padded string has a length of **at least** `len`.
+Left pads a string such that the padded string has a length of **at least** `len` grapheme clusters (i.e., user-perceived characters, not UTF-16 code units).
 
 ```javascript
 var str = lpad( 'a', 5 );
 // returns '    a'
 ```
 
+```javascript
+// A surrogate pair (e.g., an emoji) counts as a single character:
+var str = lpad( '😀', 3, 'x' );
+// returns 'xx😀'
+```
+
 By default, an input string is padded with a Unicode "space" character (U+0020). To pad with a different character or sequence of characters, provide a `pad` string.
 
 ```javascript
@@ -67,6 +73,8 @@ str = lpad( 'boop', 12, 'beep' );
     // returns 'epbeepboop'
     ```
 
+-   Length is measured in grapheme clusters. If `pad` is a string whose grapheme cluster count does not grow when repeated — a bare Unicode combining mark is the notable case, per [UAX #29][unicode-uax-29] a run of `Extend` characters with no preceding base character merges into a single cluster no matter how many times it repeats — the returned string may have fewer than `len` grapheme clusters.
+
 -   This function differs from [`String.prototype.padStart`][mdn-string-padstart] in the following ways:
 
     -   The function is **not** guaranteed to return a string having a length exactly equal to `len` (as explained above).
@@ -220,6 +228,8 @@ $ echo -n 'boop\tbeep' |  lpad --len 8 --split '\t'
 
 [mdn-string-padstart]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/String/padStart
 
+[unicode-uax-29]: https://unicode.org/reports/tr29/
+
 <!-- <related-links> -->
 
 [@stdlib/string/pad]: https://github.com/stdlib-js/stdlib/tree/develop/lib/node_modules/%40stdlib/string/pad
diff --git a/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/left-pad/test/test.js b/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/left-pad/test/test.js
index 8a1a40a23943..248c46e39b62 100644
--- a/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/left-pad/test/test.js
+++ b/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/left-pad/test/test.js
@@ -154,3 +154,9 @@ tape( 'if the specified string length is less than or equal to the input string
 	t.strictEqual( lpad( 'boop', 4, 'beep' ), 'boop', 'returns input string (=)' );
 	t.end();
 });
+
+tape( 'the function measures string length in grapheme clusters, not UTF-16 code units, so a string containing a surrogate pair is treated as one character', function test( t ) {
+	var str = lpad( '😀', 3, 'x' );
+	t.strictEqual( str, 'xx😀', 'pads based on grapheme cluster count' );
+	t.end();
+});
diff --git a/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/pad/README.md b/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/pad/README.md
index 1210f6ae4f14..36b16cdff017 100644
--- a/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/pad/README.md
+++ b/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/pad/README.md
@@ -38,13 +38,21 @@ var pad = require( '@stdlib/string/pad' );
 
 #### pad( str, len\[, options] )
 
-Pads a `string` such that the padded `string` has a `length` of `len`.
+Pads a `string` such that the padded `string` has a `length` of `len` grapheme clusters (i.e., user-perceived characters, not UTF-16 code units).
 
 ```javascript
 var str = pad( 'a', 5 );
 // returns 'a    '
 ```
 
+```javascript
+// A surrogate pair (e.g., an emoji) counts as a single character and is never split apart:
+var str = pad( '😀', 3, {
+    'rpad': 'x'
+});
+// returns '😀xx'
+```
+
 The function accepts the following `options`:
 
 -   **lpad**: `string` used to left pad. Default: `''`.
diff --git a/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/pad/lib/main.js b/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/pad/lib/main.js
index ef7f02acac4a..03ee8d7cfd9d 100644
--- a/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/pad/lib/main.js
+++ b/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/pad/lib/main.js
@@ -29,6 +29,8 @@ var ceil = require( '@stdlib/math/base/special/ceil' );
 var lpad = require( '@stdlib/string/left-pad' );
 var rpad = require( '@stdlib/string/right-pad' );
 var abs = require( '@stdlib/math/base/special/abs' );
+var numGraphemeClusters = require( '@stdlib/string/num-grapheme-clusters' );
+var sliceGraphemeClusters = require( '@stdlib/string/base/slice-grapheme-clusters' );
 var FLOAT64_MAX_SAFE_INTEGER = require( '@stdlib/constants/float64/max-safe-integer' );
 var validate = require( './validate.js' );
 
@@ -90,6 +92,8 @@ function pad( str, len, options ) {
 	var isodd;
 	var right;
 	var left;
+	var slen;
+	var tlen;
 	var opts;
 	var err;
 	var tmp;
@@ -110,8 +114,10 @@ function pad( str, len, options ) {
 			throw err;
 		}
 	}
+	// Note: `len` counts grapheme clusters (i.e., user-perceived characters), not UTF-16 code units, so that multi-code-unit characters (e.g., astral-plane code points, combining marks) are never split apart.
+	slen = numGraphemeClusters( str );
 	if ( opts.lpad && opts.rpad ) {
-		n = ( len-str.length ) / 2;
+		n = ( len-slen ) / 2;
 		if ( n === 0 ) {
 			return str;
 		}
@@ -122,9 +128,9 @@ function pad( str, len, options ) {
 		if ( n < 0 ) {
 			n = floor( abs( n ) );
 			nleft = n;
-			nright = str.length - n;
+			nright = slen - n;
 
-			// If |len-str.length| is an odd number, take away an additional character from one side...
+			// If |len-slen| is an odd number, take away an additional character from one side...
 			if ( isodd ) {
 				if ( opts.centerRight ) {
 					nright -= 1;
@@ -132,15 +138,15 @@ function pad( str, len, options ) {
 					nleft += 1;
 				}
 			}
-			return str.substring( nleft, nright );
+			return sliceGraphemeClusters( str, nleft, nright );
 		}
-		nleft = ceil( n / opts.lpad.length );
+		nleft = ceil( n / numGraphemeClusters( opts.lpad ) );
 		left = repeat( opts.lpad, nleft );
 
-		nright = ceil( n / opts.rpad.length );
+		nright = ceil( n / numGraphemeClusters( opts.rpad ) );
 		right = repeat( opts.rpad, nright );
 
-		// If (len-str.length) is an odd number, give one side one extra character...
+		// If (len-slen) is an odd number, give one side one extra character...
 		n = tmp;
 		nleft = n;
 		nright = n;
@@ -151,19 +157,20 @@ function pad( str, len, options ) {
 				nright += 1;
 			}
 		}
-		left = left.substring( 0, nleft );
-		right = right.substring( 0, nright );
+		left = sliceGraphemeClusters( left, 0, nleft );
+		right = sliceGraphemeClusters( right, 0, nright );
 		return left + str + right;
 	}
 	if ( opts.lpad ) {
 		tmp = lpad( str, len, opts.lpad );
-		return tmp.substring( tmp.length-len );
+		tlen = numGraphemeClusters( tmp );
+		return sliceGraphemeClusters( tmp, tlen-len, tlen );
 	}
 	if ( opts.rpad ) {
-		return ( rpad( str, len, opts.rpad ) ).substring( 0, len );
+		return sliceGraphemeClusters( rpad( str, len, opts.rpad ), 0, len );
 	}
 	if ( opts.rpad === void 0 ) {
-		return ( rpad( str, len, ' ' ) ).substring( 0, len );
+		return sliceGraphemeClusters( rpad( str, len, ' ' ), 0, len );
 	}
 	throw new RangeError( format( 'invalid argument. At least one padding option must have a length greater than 0. Left padding: `%s`. Right padding: `%s`.', opts.lpad, opts.rpad ) );
 }
diff --git a/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/pad/test/test.js b/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/pad/test/test.js
index c7202d3d5415..cf3fe72454da 100644
--- a/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/pad/test/test.js
+++ b/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/pad/test/test.js
@@ -289,3 +289,63 @@ tape( 'if the specified string length is less than or equal to the input string
 
 	t.end();
 });
+
+tape( 'the function measures string length in grapheme clusters, not UTF-16 code units, so a string containing a surrogate pair is treated as one character', function test( t ) {
+	var str;
+
+	str = pad( '😀', 3 );
+	t.strictEqual( str, '😀  ', 'right padded, default pad string' );
+
+	str = pad( '😀', 3, {
+		'lpad': 'x'
+	});
+	t.strictEqual( str, 'xx😀', 'left padded' );
+
+	str = pad( '😀', 3, {
+		'rpad': 'x'
+	});
+	t.strictEqual( str, '😀xx', 'right padded' );
+
+	t.end();
+});
+
+tape( 'the function never splits a surrogate pair when truncating a string that already exceeds the specified length', function test( t ) {
+	var str;
+
+	// Two astral characters (4 code units, 2 grapheme clusters) trimmed to 1 grapheme cluster:
+	str = pad( '😀😁', 1, {
+		'rpad': 'x'
+	});
+	t.strictEqual( str, '😀', 'right padded (<); no lone surrogate' );
+
+	str = pad( '😀😁', 1, {
+		'lpad': 'x'
+	});
+	t.strictEqual( str, '😁', 'left padded (<); no lone surrogate' );
+
+	str = pad( '😀😁😂', 2, {
+		'lpad': '@',
+		'rpad': '!'
+	});
+	t.strictEqual( str, '😁😂', 'centered (<); no lone surrogate' );
+
+	t.end();
+});
+
+tape( 'the function supports padding with a multi-code-unit pad string without splitting a surrogate pair', function test( t ) {
+	var str;
+
+	str = pad( 'a', 4, {
+		'lpad': '😀',
+		'rpad': '!'
+	});
+	t.strictEqual( str, '😀a!!', 'left/right padded with an astral lpad character' );
+
+	str = pad( 'a', 4, {
+		'lpad': '!',
+		'rpad': '😀'
+	});
+	t.strictEqual( str, '!a😀😀', 'left/right padded with an astral rpad character' );
+
+	t.end();
+});
diff --git a/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/right-pad/README.md b/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/right-pad/README.md
index 94c821d67a88..cc96d1d4a7e5 100644
--- a/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/right-pad/README.md
+++ b/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/right-pad/README.md
@@ -32,13 +32,19 @@ var rpad = require( '@stdlib/string/right-pad' );
 
 #### rpad( str, len\[, pad] )
 
-Right pads a `string` such that the padded `string` has a `length` of **at least** `len`.
+Right pads a `string` such that the padded `string` has a `length` of **at least** `len` grapheme clusters (i.e., user-perceived characters, not UTF-16 code units).
 
 ```javascript
 var str = rpad( 'a', 5 );
 // returns 'a    '
 ```
 
+```javascript
+// A surrogate pair (e.g., an emoji) counts as a single character:
+var str = rpad( '😀', 3, 'x' );
+// returns '😀xx'
+```
+
 By default, an input `string` is padded with `spaces`. To pad with a different character or sequence of characters, provide a `pad` string.
 
 ```javascript
@@ -67,6 +73,8 @@ str = rpad( 'beep', 12, 'boop' );
     // returns 'beepboopbo' => length 10
     ```
 
+-   Length is measured in grapheme clusters. If `pad` is a string whose grapheme cluster count does not grow when repeated — a bare Unicode combining mark is the notable case, per [UAX #29][unicode-uax-29] a run of `Extend` characters merges into a single cluster no matter how many times it repeats — the returned string may have fewer than `len` grapheme clusters.
+
 </section>
 
 <!-- /.notes -->
@@ -199,6 +207,8 @@ beep%%%%
 
 [mdn-regexp]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Guide/Regular_Expressions
 
+[unicode-uax-29]: https://unicode.org/reports/tr29/
+
 <!-- <related-links> -->
 
 [@stdlib/string/left-pad]: https://github.com/stdlib-js/stdlib/tree/develop/lib/node_modules/%40stdlib/string/left-pad
diff --git a/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/right-pad/test/test.js b/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/right-pad/test/test.js
index cd4ef1ad5225..8c5d21b28507 100644
--- a/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/right-pad/test/test.js
+++ b/lib/node_modules/@stdlib/string/right-pad/test/test.js
@@ -151,3 +151,9 @@ tape( 'if the specified string length is less than or equal to the input string
 	t.strictEqual( rpad( 'beep', 4, 'boop' ), 'beep', 'returns input string (=)' );
 	t.end();
 });
+
+tape( 'the function measures string length in grapheme clusters, not UTF-16 code units, so a string containing a surrogate pair is treated as one character', function test( t ) {
+	var str = rpad( '😀', 3, 'x' );
+	t.strictEqual( str, '😀xx', 'pads based on grapheme cluster count' );
+	t.end();
+});