2000
#34,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 615
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.23
Very Rare Last name
Pickler
An occupational surname for someone who pickled foods for preservation.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 605 Americans carry the last name Pickler. That puts it at #43,946 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.18 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 566,536 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pickler 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 Pickler with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
605
1 in 566,536
Census rank
#43,946
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
528
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 528 bearers of the surname Pickler in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.18 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 43946th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pickler, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (1.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pickler
The surname Pickler has its origins in Scotland, dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the old Scots word "pickler," which referred to a person who pickled or preserved food, particularly fish or meat. This occupation was common in coastal regions of Scotland, where fishing was a major source of sustenance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Pickler can be found in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland from the late 13th century, where a person named William Pickler is mentioned as a resident of Inverness-shire. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the Scottish Highlands by that time.
In the 16th century, the Pickler surname appeared in various historical documents across Scotland, including the Registers of the Privy Council and the Commissariot Records of Edinburgh. Notable individuals from this period include James Pickler (c. 1520 - 1587), a merchant from Aberdeen, and Robert Pickler (c. 1560 - 1632), a landowner in Stirlingshire.
By the 17th century, the Pickler surname had spread to other parts of the British Isles, including England and Ireland. In 1642, a man named William Pickler was recorded as a member of the Merchant Taylors' Company in London, indicating that the name had gained a foothold in the English capital.
One of the most notable figures in the history of the Pickler surname was Sir John Pickler (1678 - 1751), a Scottish judge and landowner who served as Lord Advocate of Scotland from 1737 to 1742. He was knighted for his service to the Crown and is remembered for his contributions to the legal system in Scotland.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Pickler surname continued to be found throughout the United Kingdom, with various branches of the family establishing themselves in different regions. One notable individual from this period was William Pickler (1805 - 1878), a Scottish-born author and educator who immigrated to the United States and became a prominent figure in the field of education in Ohio.
Other notable individuals with the surname Pickler include Mary Pickler (1858 - 1932), an American philanthropist and suffragist from Missouri, and Charles Pickler (1872 - 1957), a South Dakota politician who served as the state's governor from 1909 to 1913.
While the Pickler surname has its roots in Scotland and the British Isles, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including North America, Australia, and New Zealand, carried by generations of immigrants and their descendants.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pickler
Among Census respondents with the surname Pickler, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (1.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Pickler 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 Pickler surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.2% · 492
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 16
- Two or more races1.5% · 8
- Black or African American1.1% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pickler
Pickler 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
#41,038
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 531
-84 bearers (-13.7%)
Per 100,000 0.18
Rank movement Down 6,281 places
2020
#43,946
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 528
-3 bearers (-0.6%)
Per 100,000 0.18
Rank movement Down 2,908 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #34,757 | 615 | 0.23 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #41,038 | 531 | 0.18 | -84 bearers (-13.7%) | Down 6,281 places |
| 2020 | #43,946 | 528 | 0.18 | -3 bearers (-0.6%) | Down 2,908 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 Pickler 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 | #41,038 | #43,946 | -7.1% |
| Count | 531 | 528 | -0.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.18 | 0.18 | -1.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pickler bearers went from 531 to 528 (-0.6% change). The surname moved down 2,908 positions in the national ranking, going from #41,038 to #43,946.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Pickler
FAQ
Pickler surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pickler?
Name Census estimates that about 605 living Americans carry the surname Pickler. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 566,536 residents.
How common is Pickler?
Pickler ranks #43,946 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.18 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 528 people with the surname Pickler. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (605), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.18 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.18 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Pickler.
Has Pickler become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pickler went from 531 recorded bearers to 528. That is a decrease of 3 (-0.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #41,038 to #43,946.
What does the Census say about the background of Pickler?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pickler, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (1.5%). 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 Pickler in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (492 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pickler appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.2%), Hispanic (3.0%), Two or More Races (1.5%). 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 Pickler (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 Pickler mean?
An occupational surname for someone who pickled foods for preservation. 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 Pickler (0.18 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 Americans have the surname Pickler?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.