Pinky
A diminutive name referring to a pinkish color or affectionate term.
Name Census estimates that about 163 living Americans carry the first name Pinky. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Pinky today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Pinky births was 1951 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Pinky. 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.
People living today
163
~ 1 in 2,102,787 Americans
Peak year
1951
14 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
1992 SSA rank
#9,293
Tracked since 1883
Popularity
Pinky: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Pinky from the 1880s through to the 1990s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 76 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Pinky 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 Pinky 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 Pinky
The name Pinky is believed to have originated as a nickname or diminutive form of the name Pinkney, which itself is derived from the Old English word "pinc" meaning "small, little one." The name Pinkney was initially used as a surname, but over time, it evolved into a given name as well.
The earliest recorded use of the name Pinky as a given name dates back to the late 19th century in the United States. It is possible that the name gained popularity as a shortened form of Pinkney, which was a relatively common surname among African Americans during that time.
One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name Pinky was Pinky Swayer, an American vaudeville performer and comedian who was active in the early 20th century. Swayer was known for her comedic routines and performances in various vaudeville shows.
Another notable figure named Pinky was Pinky Lee, an American comedian, singer, and actor born in 1936. Lee was best known for his children's television show, "The Pinky Lee Show," which aired on NBC from 1954 to 1957. He was also a regular performer on the popular variety show "The Ed Sullivan Show."
In the world of sports, Pinky Whitney was an American football player who played for the University of Michigan in the early 1900s. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1971.
Pinky Higgins was an American baseball player and manager who played for the Boston Red Sox and managed the team from 1959 to 1962. He was born in 1909 and passed away in 1969.
Pinky Tomlin was an American singer and songwriter who was popular during the 1930s and 1940s. He is best known for his hit song "The Object of My Affection," which was released in 1934.
While the name Pinky may have started as a nickname or diminutive form, it has since become a standalone given name in its own right, particularly in the United States. The name has been used for individuals of various ethnic backgrounds and has transcended its original meaning as a "small, little one."
People
Pinky + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Pinky 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
Pinky: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pinky?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 163 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Pinky 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 2,102,787 US residents.
Is Pinky a common name?
We classify Pinky as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 370 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Pinky most popular?
The single biggest year for Pinky was 1951, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Pinky is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Pinky a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Pinky 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.
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.