2000
#137,816
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Pieren
An English locational surname derived from the French place name Pierres.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Pieren. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pieren 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
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Pieren in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pieren, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pieren
The surname Pieren originated in Germany, specifically in the region of Baden-Württemberg, as early as the 13th century. It is derived from the German word "Bier," which means "beer," suggesting that the earliest bearers of this name may have been brewers or tavern keepers.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Pieren name can be found in a document from the town of Pforzheim in 1287, where a certain Hans Pieren is mentioned as a resident. This document provides evidence of the surname's existence in the region during the medieval period.
In the 15th century, the Pieren name appeared in several historical records, including the Tübingen University matriculation records, where a student named Johannes Pieren was enrolled in 1472. This suggests that the name had gained some prominence and was associated with scholarly pursuits.
The Pieren surname can also be linked to several place names in Germany, such as Piering (now Bieringen), a small town in the district of Waldshut. It is possible that the surname originated from this location or that some families adopted the name after residing there.
One notable bearer of the Pieren surname was Johann Pieren (1590-1667), a German Lutheran theologian and philosopher who served as a professor at the University of Tübingen. His works on logic and metaphysics were widely studied in his time.
Another historical figure with this surname was Christoph Pieren (1628-1699), a German composer and organist who was active in the city of Nuremberg. He is known for his contributions to the development of the chorale prelude, a genre of organ music based on Lutheran hymn tunes.
In the 18th century, the Pieren name gained further recognition with the birth of Johann Friedrich Pieren (1723-1808), a German jurist and legal scholar. He held influential positions in the judiciary and authored several treatises on civil law.
The 19th century saw the rise of Wilhelm Pieren (1825-1901), a German industrialist and entrepreneur who founded a successful textile manufacturing company in the city of Augsburg. His business acumen and innovative techniques helped shape the local textile industry.
Lastly, Hans Pieren (1888-1962) was a Swiss painter and illustrator known for his landscape paintings and illustrations for children's books. He was born in Bern and spent much of his career capturing the beauty of the Swiss Alps in his vibrant and expressive artworks.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pieren
Among Census respondents with the surname Pieren, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Pieren 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 Pieren surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.1% · 107
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pieren
Pieren 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
#152,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
-5 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 14,812 places
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
+1 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 1,693 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #137,816 | 112 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #152,628 | 107 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 14,812 places |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.9%) | Up 1,693 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 Pieren 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 | #152,628 | #150,935 | 1.1% |
| Count | 107 | 108 | 0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pieren bearers went from 107 to 108 (+0.9% change). The surname moved up 1,693 positions in the national ranking, going from #152,628 to #150,935.
FAQ
Pieren surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pieren?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Pieren. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Pieren?
Pieren ranks #150,935 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 108 people with the surname Pieren. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), 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 Pieren.
Has Pieren become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pieren went from 107 recorded bearers to 108. That is an increase of 1 (+0.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #152,628 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Pieren?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pieren, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Pieren in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.1% (107 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pieren appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.1%), Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Pieren (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 Pieren mean?
An English locational surname derived from the French place name Pierres. 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 Pieren (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 people are called Pieren?
Want to know how many people have the surname Pieren? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.