Pinkney
Of English origin, meaning "from the park enclosure" or "park keeper".
Name Census estimates that about 75 living Americans carry the first name Pinkney. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Pinkney today is around 83 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Pinkney births was 1916 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Pinkney. 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 Pinkney is about 83 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Pinkneys were born before 1953.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Pinkney. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
75
~ 1 in 4,570,058 Americans
Peak year
1916
17 babies that year
Average age
83
years old
1958 SSA rank
#3,834
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Pinkney: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Pinkney from the 1880s through to the 1950s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 117 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Pinkney 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 Pinkney during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Pinkneys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Pinkney
The given name Pinkney is believed to have originated from the Old English word "pinca," which was a term used to describe a small hill or mound. This suggests that the name may have been derived from a geographic location or a specific place name.
Variations of the name, such as Pinckney and Pincknee, can be found in historical records dating back to the 13th century in England. The earliest recorded instance of the name Pinkney can be traced to the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landowners and properties commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086.
One of the most notable historical figures bearing the name Pinkney was Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (1746-1825), an American statesman from South Carolina. He served as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and was a prominent political leader during the early years of the United States.
Another prominent individual was Ninian Pinckney (1730-1784), a British army officer and colonial administrator who served as the Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina. He played a significant role in the American Revolutionary War and was known for his efforts to maintain British rule in the colonies.
Thomas Pinckney (1750-1828), brother of Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, was a prominent American diplomat and military officer. He served as the United States Minister to Britain and Spain and played a crucial role in negotiating the Treaty of San Lorenzo, which established boundaries between the United States and Spanish territories.
William Pinkney (1764-1822) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the United States Attorney General and as a member of the United States Senate. He was renowned for his legal skills and was involved in several important cases, including the prosecution of Aaron Burr for treason.
Edward Coote Pinkney (1802-1828) was a British naval officer and poet. He is best known for his poem "A Sailor's Consolation," which became popular among sailors in the Royal Navy and captured the hardships and loneliness of life at sea.
While the name Pinkney has its roots in Old English, it has been used throughout various periods of history and has been associated with notable individuals in fields such as politics, diplomacy, law, and literature.
People
Pinkney + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Pinkney 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
Pinkney: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pinkney?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 75 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Pinkney 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 4,570,058 US residents.
Is Pinkney a common name?
We classify Pinkney as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 531 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Pinkney most popular?
The single biggest year for Pinkney was 1916, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Pinkney is about 83 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Pinkney a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Pinkney in the SSA data are male. 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.
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.