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

Pickrell, 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 Pickrell surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pickrell in America

Pickrell is the 17419th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pickrell surname appeared 1,620 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Pickrell.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pickrell 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 Pickrell

The surname Pickrell is of English origin, deriving from a locational name associated with the region of Pickhill in North Yorkshire. The name is believed to have emerged in the late 12th or early 13th century.

The Old English root of the name, "Pic," refers to a pointed hill or peak, while the suffix "-hill" denotes a hill or elevated land. Together, the elements suggest that the surname originated from a place name meaning "the peaked hill."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname appears in the Hundred Rolls of Yorkshire, dated around 1273, where it is spelled as "Pykyll." This document was a survey of landholdings and population, providing valuable insight into the distribution of surnames during that period.

In the 14th century, the spelling evolved to "Pykhill" and "Pikehill," reflecting the regional dialect and variations in pronunciation. These forms can be found in various historical records, including the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire from 1379.

Notably, the surname Pickrell is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, though not in its modern spelling. The entry refers to a place called "Pichhil" in the North Riding of Yorkshire, further substantiating the locational origin of the name.

Among the notable individuals bearing the Pickrell surname throughout history are:

1. John Pickrell (c. 1550 - 1628), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Master of St. John's College, Cambridge.
2. Richard Pickrell (1603 - 1678), an English landowner and Member of Parliament for Huntingdonshire during the English Civil War.
3. Thomas Pickrell (1732 - 1805), a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy and participated in the American Revolutionary War.
4. William Pickrell (1808 - 1873), a British architect and surveyor who designed several notable buildings in London, including St. Mark's Church in Regent's Park.
5. Alice Pickrell (1855 - 1938), a British author and playwright known for her works on social reform and women's suffrage.

The Pickrell surname has also been associated with various place names, such as Pickrell Green in Hertfordshire and Pickrell Meadows in Cambridgeshire, further reinforcing its locational origins.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pickrell

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

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 Pickrell 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 Pickrell 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 Pickrell was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!