2000
#114,166
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 142
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Pinckert
A German surname referring to someone who made or mended wooden buckets or containers.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Pinckert. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pinckert 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Pinckert in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pinckert, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.8%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pinckert
The surname Pinckert originates from Germany, arising in the 15th century. It is believed to be derived from the Middle Low German word "pinken," meaning "to prick or pierce," suggesting a possible occupational origin related to a needle or pin maker.
Pinckert was initially found in the regions of Westphalia and Lower Saxony, where early records display variations in spelling, such as Pinkert, Pinckert, and Pinckhart. One of the earliest documented mentions of the name appears in the town records of Münster, Westphalia, from the late 15th century.
Historical references to the Pinckert name are scarce, but it is mentioned in the parish records of St. Peter's Church in Lübeck, a city in northern Germany, in the early 16th century. The name is also found in the records of the city of Bremen from the same period.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Pinckert surname was Hans Pinckert, a merchant who lived in Lübeck in the late 15th century. Another early record is that of Gerhard Pinckert, a landowner from the village of Wennigsen near Hanover, who was mentioned in a deed from 1532.
In the 17th century, the Pinckert name appears in the records of the city of Hamburg, where Johann Pinckert, a master tailor, was born in 1625. Another notable figure was Friedrich Pinckert, a Lutheran pastor who served in the town of Salzwedel in the late 17th century.
As the name spread throughout Germany, it also found its way into other regions. In the 18th century, a family bearing the Pinckert surname was recorded in the town of Mühlhausen, in present-day Thuringia. One member of this family, Johann Gottfried Pinckert, was a renowned clockmaker who lived from 1738 to 1807.
While the Pinckert surname is relatively uncommon, it has endured throughout the centuries, with scattered records indicating its presence in various parts of Germany and neighboring regions. However, it remains a name deeply rooted in the historical records of northern and central Germany, where it first emerged and gained its distinctive identity.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pinckert
Among Census respondents with the surname Pinckert, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.8%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Pinckert 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 Pinckert surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.3% · 92
- Hispanic or Latino5.8% · 6
- Two or more races3.9% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pinckert
Pinckert 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
#131,379
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 129
-13 bearers (-9.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 17,213 places
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-26 bearers (-20.2%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 22,803 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #114,166 | 142 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #131,379 | 129 | 0.04 | -13 bearers (-9.2%) | Down 17,213 places |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | -26 bearers (-20.2%) | Down 22,803 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 Pinckert 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 | #131,379 | #154,182 | -17.4% |
| Count | 129 | 103 | -20.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pinckert bearers went from 129 to 103 (-20.2% change). The surname moved down 22,803 positions in the national ranking, going from #131,379 to #154,182.
FAQ
Pinckert surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pinckert?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Pinckert. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Pinckert?
Pinckert ranks #154,182 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 103 people with the surname Pinckert. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Pinckert.
Has Pinckert become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pinckert went from 129 recorded bearers to 103. That is a decrease of 26 (-20.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #131,379 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Pinckert?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pinckert, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.8%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Pinckert in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.3% (92 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pinckert appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.3%), Hispanic (5.8%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Pinckert (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 Pinckert mean?
A German surname referring to someone who made or mended wooden buckets or containers. 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 Pinckert (0.03 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 have the surname Pinckert?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.