2000
#5,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,126
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.27
Rare Last name
Pinckney
A surname of Norman French origin, derived from a place name meaning "person from Pincé," a town in France.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,321 Americans carry the last name Pinckney. That puts it at #5,269 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.14 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 46,818 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pinckney 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Pinckney with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.3K
1 in 46,818
Census rank
#5,269
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,384 bearers of the surname Pinckney in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.14 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5269th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pinckney, the largest self-reported group is Black at 67.4%. The next largest groups are White (24.4%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pinckney
The surname PINCKNEY is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "pinc" meaning "hill" or "mound" and "ey" meaning "island." It is believed to have originated in the county of Oxfordshire, England, during the medieval period.
The earliest recorded instance of the name PINCKNEY can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Pinchenai," referring to a location in Oxfordshire. This suggests that the name was initially a toponymic surname, derived from a place name.
In the 13th century, the name was recorded as "Pincheneye" and "Pincheneie" in various records, reflecting the evolution of its spelling over time. During this period, several notable individuals bore the surname PINCKNEY, including Sir Robert Pinckney (c. 1230-1295), a prominent English knight and landowner.
As the name spread across England, it took on various spellings, such as "Pincknye," "Pynkney," and "Pinckney." One of the most famous bearers of the name was Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (1746-1825), an American politician and diplomat who served as the 37th Governor of South Carolina.
Another notable figure was William Pinckney (1670-1719), an English clergyman and author who wrote several religious works. In the 18th century, Thomas Pinckney (1750-1828), an American soldier and diplomat, played a significant role in the American Revolutionary War and later served as the United States Minister to Spain.
The PINCKNEY surname also gained prominence in the literary world with the English poet and author Edward Coote Pinkney (1802-1828), who was known for his works such as "A Health" and "Travels in Palestine."
It is worth noting that the name PINCKNEY has been associated with several prominent families in the United States, particularly in South Carolina, where it has a long and distinguished history dating back to the colonial era.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pinckney
Among Census respondents with the surname Pinckney, the largest self-reported group is Black at 67.4%. The next largest groups are White (24.4%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Pinckney 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 Pinckney surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American67.4% · 4,301
- White24.4% · 1,558
- Two or more races4.3% · 276
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 204
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 32
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pinckney
Pinckney 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
#5,147
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,800
+674 bearers (+11.0%)
Per 100,000 2.31
Rank movement Up 87 places
2020
#5,269
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,384
-416 bearers (-6.1%)
Per 100,000 2.14
Rank movement Down 122 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,234 | 6,126 | 2.27 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,147 | 6,800 | 2.31 | +674 bearers (+11.0%) | Up 87 places |
| 2020 | #5,269 | 6,384 | 2.14 | -416 bearers (-6.1%) | Down 122 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 Pinckney 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 | #5,147 | #5,269 | -2.4% |
| Count | 6,800 | 6,384 | -6.1% |
| Per 100K | 2.31 | 2.14 | -7.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pinckney bearers went from 6,800 to 6,384 (-6.1% change). The surname moved down 122 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,147 to #5,269.
FAQ
Pinckney surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pinckney?
Name Census estimates that about 7,321 living Americans carry the surname Pinckney. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 46,818 residents.
How common is Pinckney?
Pinckney ranks #5,269 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.14 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,384 people with the surname Pinckney. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,321), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.14 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.14 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Pinckney.
Has Pinckney become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pinckney went from 6,800 recorded bearers to 6,384. That is a decrease of 416 (-6.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,147 to #5,269.
What does the Census say about the background of Pinckney?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pinckney, the largest self-reported group is Black at 67.4%. The next largest groups are White (24.4%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Pinckney in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.4% (4,301 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pinckney appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (67.4%), White (24.4%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Pinckney (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 Pinckney mean?
A surname of Norman French origin, derived from a place name meaning "person from Pincé," a town in France. 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 Pinckney (2.14 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 last name Pinckney?
Find out how common the surname Pinckney is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.