Find out how popular the last name Pickard is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Pickard.

Pickard, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Pickard surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pickard in America

Pickard is the 3928th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pickard surname appeared 9,053 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Pickard.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pickard to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Pickard

The surname Pickard is of English origin, derived from the Old French word "piquier," meaning "pikeman" or "pike-bearer." This occupation-based surname emerged during the medieval period, when soldiers specialized in using the pike, a long, heavy wooden shaft with a pointed metal tip, as their primary weapon on the battlefield.

The name Pickard can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of England, particularly in the counties of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Nottinghamshire. It is believed that the earliest bearers of this name were individuals who served as pikemen in the armies of local lords or in the service of the Crown.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Pickard can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Lincolnshire, a collection of records from the late 13th century. In this document, a certain Robert le Pykard is listed as a resident of the village of Grantham.

In the 14th century, the Pickard surname appeared in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire, where a John Pycard is mentioned as a tenant in the year 1348. This record provides evidence of the name's presence in the northern regions of England during the medieval era.

Notable individuals bearing the Pickard surname throughout history include:

1. William Pickard (c. 1516 - 1575), an English churchman who served as the Archdeacon of Bedford from 1565 until his death.
2. John Pickard (1738 - 1805), a renowned English engraver and portraitist known for his work in mezzotint, a printing technique using a copper plate.
3. Benjamin Pickard (1842 - 1904), an American businessman and philanthropist from Massachusetts, who co-founded the Pickard China Company, a notable manufacturer of fine china and porcelain.
4. Samuel Thomas Pickard (1828 - 1915), a British architect and surveyor who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Royal College of Music and the Church of St. Mary Abbots in Kensington.
5. Jane Pickard (1901 - 1986), an American author and playwright best known for her novel "The Weissmanns of Westport," which explored themes of family dynamics and Jewish-American identity.

Over time, the surname Pickard has undergone various spelling variations, such as Picard, Pickard, Pickarde, and Pycard, reflecting the fluidity of English orthography and regional dialects. Additionally, the name has been associated with various place names in England, such as Pickard's Leys in Nottinghamshire and Pickard's Croft in Yorkshire, further reinforcing its historical roots in the region.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pickard

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Pickard.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Pickard was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Pickard has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Pickard was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Pickard, please contact us.

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