2000
#2,519
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,154
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.88
Uncommon Last name
Pickering
Derived from a place name meaning "settlement of Pīchere's people," from the Old English personal name Pīchere.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 14,912 Americans carry the last name Pickering. That puts it at #2,706 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.35 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 22,985 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pickering 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 Pickering with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
15K
1 in 22,985
Census rank
#2,706
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
13K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 13,004 bearers of the surname Pickering in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.35 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2706th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pickering, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Black (6.0%) and Hispanic (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pickering
The surname Pickering is of English origin and dates back to the 12th century. It is a locational name derived from the town of Pickering in North Yorkshire, England. The name is believed to come from the Old English words "pica" meaning a small hill or peak, and "ing" meaning a meadow or enclosure.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, the town of Pickering is recorded as "Pichering". This is one of the earliest documented mentions of the place name and its spelling variation. The name likely evolved from the earlier Old English form "Picering" to its current spelling over the centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Pickering is in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1166, where a Robert de Pykering is mentioned. These rolls were financial records kept by the English Exchequer during the reign of Henry II.
Pickering has also been associated with notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest was Sir James Pickering (c. 1516-1587), an English soldier and politician who served as Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1568 to 1573.
Another prominent figure was Thomas Pickering (1621-1669), an English politician and judge who served as a member of parliament and as a justice of the Court of King's Bench during the English Civil War and the Commonwealth period.
In the realm of literature, Edward Pickering (1807-1878) was an English writer and poet best known for his work "The Lay of the Last Minstrel" published in 1805.
The name Pickering has also been associated with notable scientists and astronomers. One such individual was Edward Charles Pickering (1846-1919), an American astronomer and physicist who served as the director of the Harvard College Observatory from 1877 to 1919.
Another scientist with the surname was William Henry Pickering (1858-1938), an American astronomer and physicist who discovered the ninth moon of Saturn, known as Phoebe, in 1898.
Throughout its history, the surname Pickering has been found across various regions of England, particularly in Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Northumberland, where it has deep roots and connections to the local geography and place names.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pickering
Among Census respondents with the surname Pickering, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Black (6.0%) and Hispanic (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Pickering 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 Pickering surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.3% · 11,093
- Black or African American6.0% · 785
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 502
- Two or more races3.1% · 408
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 111
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 105
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pickering
Pickering 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
#2,653
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,582
+428 bearers (+3.3%)
Per 100,000 4.60
Rank movement Down 134 places
2020
#2,706
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,004
-578 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 4.35
Rank movement Down 53 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,519 | 13,154 | 4.88 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,653 | 13,582 | 4.60 | +428 bearers (+3.3%) | Down 134 places |
| 2020 | #2,706 | 13,004 | 4.35 | -578 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 53 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 Pickering 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 | #2,653 | #2,706 | -2.0% |
| Count | 13,582 | 13,004 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 4.60 | 4.35 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pickering bearers went from 13,582 to 13,004 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 53 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,653 to #2,706.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Pickering
FAQ
Pickering surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pickering?
Name Census estimates that about 14,912 living Americans carry the surname Pickering. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 22,985 residents.
How common is Pickering?
Pickering ranks #2,706 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.35 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 13,004 people with the surname Pickering. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (14,912), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.35 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.35 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Pickering.
Has Pickering become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pickering went from 13,582 recorded bearers to 13,004. That is a decrease of 578 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,653 to #2,706.
What does the Census say about the background of Pickering?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pickering, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Black (6.0%) and Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Pickering in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.3% (11,093 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pickering appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.3%), Black (6.0%), Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Pickering (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 Pickering mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "settlement of Pīchere's people," from the Old English personal name Pīchere. 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 Pickering (4.35 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 share the surname Pickering?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.