Piney
A diminutive of pine, a coniferous evergreen tree.
Name Census estimates that about 7 living Americans carry the first name Piney. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Piney today is around 76 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Piney births was 1918 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Piney. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Piney is about 76 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Pineys were born before 1960.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Piney. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
7
~ 1 in 48,964,905 Americans
Peak year
1918
8 babies that year
Average age
76
years old
1956 SSA rank
#5,793
Tracked since 1916
Popularity
Piney: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Piney from the 1910s through to the 1950s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 14 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Piney remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Piney by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Piney during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Piney
The given name Piney is a modern English name derived from the word "pine," referring to the coniferous evergreen tree. Its origins can be traced back to the early 19th century when it emerged as a nature-inspired name, likely influenced by the romantic movement's appreciation for the natural world.
One of the earliest recorded instances of Piney as a first name dates back to the late 1800s. Piney Ridge, a community in West Virginia, was named after a local resident named Piney Moore, born around 1840. This suggests that the name was in use, at least regionally, during the mid-19th century.
In the early 20th century, Piney gained some popularity as a gender-neutral name, though it was more commonly given to boys. Piney W. Allen (1888-1976), an American educator and politician from Arkansas, is one notable historical figure who bore this name.
Another early bearer of the name was Piney Woods (1898-1987), an American blues singer and musician from Mississippi. His unique stage name, which may have been a nickname or a chosen moniker, reflects the name's association with the natural world.
In literature, one can find references to Piney as a character name, such as in the novel "Piney Woods Tavern" by Sam Deen, published in 1953. This further solidified the name's association with the pine forests of the American South.
Moving into the late 20th century, Piney was occasionally used as a feminine name. Piney Kesting (born 1945), an American artist and writer from California, is one example of a woman bearing this name.
While not a particularly common name throughout history, Piney has left a trail of notable individuals across various fields, from politics and music to literature and art. Its connection to the natural world and the pine tree has remained a consistent theme in its usage and meaning.
People
Piney + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Piney as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Piney: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Piney?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Piney going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 48,964,905 US residents.
Is Piney a common name?
We classify Piney as "Very Rare". It ranks above 23.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 36 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Piney most popular?
The single biggest year for Piney was 1918, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Piney is about 76 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Piney in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Piney a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Piney in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Piney still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Piney in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Piney can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Piney?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Piney at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.