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

Pigeon, 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 Pigeon surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pigeon in America

Pigeon is the 17087th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pigeon surname appeared 1,661 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 Pigeon.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pigeon 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 Pigeon

The surname PIGEON has its origins traced back to medieval France and England, deriving from the French word "pigeon" meaning "dove" or "pigeon." This name likely emerged as a nickname or occupational name for someone who kept or traded pigeons, a common practice in those times.

The earliest recorded instances of the PIGEON surname can be found in various English records from the 13th century onwards, with variations in spelling such as Pygen, Pygon, and Pijun. In the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273, there is a reference to a William Pigeon.

The name also appears in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of landholdings and property ownership commissioned by William the Conqueror. The entry mentions a landowner named Radulfus Pigeon in Oxfordshire.

During the Middle Ages, the PIGEON name was particularly prevalent in the regions of Normandy, Brittany, and other parts of northern France, as well as in southern England. This suggests a connection between the name's origins and the Norman conquest of England in 1066, when many Norman families settled in the British Isles.

Notable individuals bearing the PIGEON surname include:

1. Richard Pigeon (c. 1460-1535), an English clergyman and theologian who served as the Bishop of Thetford.
2. Jean-Baptiste Pigeon (1669-1728), a French-Canadian explorer and fur trader who established trading posts in the Great Lakes region.
3. Marie-Madeleine Pigeon de l'Auberivière (1703-1778), a French noblewoman and philanthropist known for her charitable works in Paris.
4. Edmond Pigeon (1827-1899), a French lawyer and politician who served as a deputy in the National Assembly.
5. Alfred Pigeon (1874-1944), a British artist and illustrator known for his works depicting rural life in England and France.

The PIGEON surname has also been associated with various place names, particularly in England, such as Pigeonhouse Farm in Gloucestershire and Pigeon Green in Staffordshire, suggesting a connection between the name and specific locations or settlements.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pigeon

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

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

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

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