2000
#128,797
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Pickreign
A surname referring to a ruler or monarch.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Pickreign. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pickreign 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.
Bearers in the US
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Pickreign in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pickreign, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pickreign
The surname Pickreign has its origins in the English county of Yorkshire, dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "pic" meaning a pickaxe or mattock, and "regn" meaning rain, possibly referring to a person who worked with a pickaxe during rainy weather or in a rainy region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in 1275, where a Henry Pickreyn is mentioned. The spelling variations of the name in these early records include Pickreyne, Pickreigne, and Pickreyn.
The Pickreign name is also found in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire in 1301, where a William Pickreyn is listed as a taxpayer. This suggests that the family had established itself in the region by the early 14th century.
In the 15th century, the name appears in the Paston Letters, a collection of correspondence between members of the Paston family in Norfolk. In one letter dated 1472, a John Pickreign is mentioned as a servant of the Paston household.
One notable bearer of the Pickreign name was Sir Robert Pickreign, a English knight who fought in the Wars of the Roses in the late 15th century. He was born in 1445 and died in 1492.
Another prominent individual with this surname was William Pickreign, a merchant and alderman in the city of York in the 16th century. He was born in 1520 and died in 1585.
In the 17th century, the Pickreign name is found in the parish records of Harthill, Yorkshire, with the baptism of John Pickreign in 1632.
One of the earliest known emigrants to the American colonies with this surname was Thomas Pickreign, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 and settled in the Jamestown area.
In the 18th century, a notable bearer of the Pickreign name was Elizabeth Pickreign, a pioneering educator who founded one of the first schools for girls in London in 1756. She was born in 1720 and died in 1789.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pickreign
Among Census respondents with the surname Pickreign, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Pickreign 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 Pickreign surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.7% · 110
- Two or more races3.3% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 3
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pickreign
Pickreign 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
#133,048
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 127
+5 bearers (+4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,251 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
-7 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 9,001 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #128,797 | 122 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #133,048 | 127 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.1%) | Down 4,251 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 9,001 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 Pickreign 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 | #133,048 | #142,049 | -6.8% |
| Count | 127 | 120 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pickreign bearers went from 127 to 120 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 9,001 positions in the national ranking, going from #133,048 to #142,049.
FAQ
Pickreign surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pickreign?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Pickreign. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Pickreign?
Pickreign ranks #142,049 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 120 people with the surname Pickreign. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Pickreign.
Has Pickreign become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pickreign went from 127 recorded bearers to 120. That is a decrease of 7 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #133,048 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Pickreign?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pickreign, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Pickreign in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pickreign appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.7%), Two or More Races (3.3%), Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Pickreign (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 Pickreign mean?
A surname referring to a ruler or monarch. 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 Pickreign (0.04 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 Pickreign?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.