2000
#9,484
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,144
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.17
Rare Last name
Pick
An English occupational surname referring to someone who used a pick or pickaxe in their work, such as mining.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,356 Americans carry the last name Pick. That puts it at #10,469 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.98 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 102,132 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pick surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Pick with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.4K
1 in 102,132
Census rank
#10,469
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,927 bearers of the surname Pick in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.98 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10469th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pick, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.9%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pick
The surname Pick is of English origin and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English pre-7th century word "pic", meaning a pickaxe or a mattock, which was a tool used for digging or breaking up hard ground. The name is believed to have been an occupational surname, given to someone who worked as a laborer or digger, likely in mining or construction.
The earliest recorded use of the surname Pick is found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire, dated 1166, where it is listed as "Pik". This is one of the earliest records of surnames in England, as hereditary surnames were not widely used until after the Norman Conquest in 1066.
In the Hundred Rolls of 1273, the name appears as "le Pyk", indicating that it was a descriptive surname referring to someone who used a pickaxe or mattock in their occupation. The earliest recorded instances of the name in its modern spelling, "Pick", date back to the late 13th century.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Pick was John Pick, who was recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327. Another early bearer of the name was Thomas Pick, mentioned in the Patent Rolls of 1396 for Warwickshire.
In the 16th century, the surname Pick began to be associated with specific locations, such as Pickworth in Lincolnshire and Pickhill in Yorkshire. These place names may have derived from the same Old English root as the surname, indicating areas where people worked as diggers or miners.
Notable historical figures with the surname Pick include Sir Robert Pick (1609-1679), an English landowner and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Wootton Bassett in the 17th century. Another prominent individual was John Pick (1737-1805), an English engraver and painter who is known for his portraits and illustrations of literary works.
In the 19th century, George Pick (1815-1901) was a distinguished English historian and theologian who served as a professor at Owens College, now the University of Manchester. Meanwhile, Frederick Pick (1886-1944) was a German-born American composer and music educator who taught at the University of Chicago and wrote several operas and orchestral works.
William Pick (1892-1971) was a British artist and illustrator who is best known for his illustrations of J.R.R. Tolkien's works, including The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. His intricate drawings and paintings helped bring Middle-earth to life for countless readers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pick
Among Census respondents with the surname Pick, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.9%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Pick bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Pick surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.9% · 2,747
- Two or more races1.9% · 55
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 54
- Black or African American1.1% · 33
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pick
Pick appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#9,451
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,442
+298 bearers (+9.5%)
Per 100,000 1.17
Rank movement Up 33 places
2020
#10,469
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,927
-515 bearers (-15.0%)
Per 100,000 0.98
Rank movement Down 1,018 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,484 | 3,144 | 1.17 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,451 | 3,442 | 1.17 | +298 bearers (+9.5%) | Up 33 places |
| 2020 | #10,469 | 2,927 | 0.98 | -515 bearers (-15.0%) | Down 1,018 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Pick surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #9,451 | #10,469 | -10.8% |
| Count | 3,442 | 2,927 | -15.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.17 | 0.98 | -16.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pick bearers went from 3,442 to 2,927 (-15.0% change). The surname moved down 1,018 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,451 to #10,469.
FAQ
Pick surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pick?
Name Census estimates that about 3,356 living Americans carry the surname Pick. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 102,132 residents.
How common is Pick?
Pick ranks #10,469 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.98 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,927 people with the surname Pick. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,356), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.98 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.98 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Pick.
Has Pick become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pick went from 3,442 recorded bearers to 2,927. That is a decrease of 515 (-15.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,451 to #10,469.
What does the Census say about the background of Pick?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pick, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.9%) and Hispanic (1.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Pick in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.9% (2,747 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pick appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.9%), Two or More Races (1.9%), Hispanic (1.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Pick (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Pick mean?
An English occupational surname referring to someone who used a pick or pickaxe in their work, such as mining. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Pick (0.98 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Pick?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Pick, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.