2000
#7,566
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,053
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.50
Rare Last name
Pinder
An occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of pins, or a keeper of stray animals in a pound.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,622 Americans carry the last name Pinder. That puts it at #7,900 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.35 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 74,157 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pinder 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 Pinder with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.6K
1 in 74,157
Census rank
#7,900
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,031 bearers of the surname Pinder in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.35 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7900th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pinder, the largest self-reported group is White at 45.8%. The next largest groups are Black (42.2%) and Two or More Races (6.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pinder
The surname Pinder is of English origin and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is an occupational name derived from the Old English word "pynder," which referred to a person responsible for impounding stray animals or overseeing a pound for livestock.
The earliest known record of the surname Pinder dates back to the year 1275, when a man named John le Punder was mentioned in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire. This document was a survey of landowners and their possessions conducted during the reign of King Edward I.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in various spellings, such as Pynder, Pyndere, and Pyndur, reflecting the variations in pronunciation and spelling at the time. One notable example is found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1379, which listed a Richard Pyndere.
The Pinder surname was particularly prevalent in the counties of Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Cheshire, where the occupation of pound-keeper was common in rural areas. These regions had a strong tradition of livestock farming, necessitating the need for individuals to manage stray animals and protect crops.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Pinder is associated with John Pinder, a merchant and alderman from the city of Chester, who lived in the late 15th century. Another notable figure was Sir Paul Pinder, a 16th-century English diplomat and ambassador to the court of the Holy Roman Emperor during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
In the 17th century, the Pinder surname can be found in various historical records, including the parish registers of Ecclesfield, Yorkshire, where a family by the name of Pinder resided. Additionally, the Pinder name appears in the Hearth Tax Rolls of 1665, which were records of households required to pay a tax based on the number of hearths or fireplaces in their homes.
Other notable individuals with the surname Pinder include William Pinder, an English clergyman and writer who lived in the late 17th century, and John Pinder, a 19th-century English poet and writer from Lancashire.
Throughout its history, the Pinder surname has also been associated with various place names, such as Pinder's End in Staffordshire and Pinder's Green in Buckinghamshire, reflecting the presence of families bearing this name in those areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pinder
Among Census respondents with the surname Pinder, the largest self-reported group is White at 45.8%. The next largest groups are Black (42.2%) and Two or More Races (6.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Pinder 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 Pinder surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White45.8% · 1,848
- Black or African American42.2% · 1,701
- Two or more races6.3% · 254
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 188
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 33
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pinder
Pinder 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
#7,968
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,151
+98 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 1.41
Rank movement Down 402 places
2020
#7,900
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,031
-120 bearers (-2.9%)
Per 100,000 1.35
Rank movement Up 68 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,566 | 4,053 | 1.50 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,968 | 4,151 | 1.41 | +98 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 402 places |
| 2020 | #7,900 | 4,031 | 1.35 | -120 bearers (-2.9%) | Up 68 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 Pinder 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 | #7,968 | #7,900 | 0.9% |
| Count | 4,151 | 4,031 | -2.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.41 | 1.35 | -4.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pinder bearers went from 4,151 to 4,031 (-2.9% change). The surname moved up 68 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,968 to #7,900.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Pinder
FAQ
Pinder surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pinder?
Name Census estimates that about 4,622 living Americans carry the surname Pinder. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 74,157 residents.
How common is Pinder?
Pinder ranks #7,900 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.35 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,031 people with the surname Pinder. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,622), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.35 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.35 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Pinder.
Has Pinder become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pinder went from 4,151 recorded bearers to 4,031. That is a decrease of 120 (-2.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #7,968 to #7,900.
What does the Census say about the background of Pinder?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pinder, the largest self-reported group is White at 45.8%. The next largest groups are Black (42.2%) and Two or More Races (6.3%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Pinder in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.8% (1,848 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pinder appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (45.8%), Black (42.2%), Two or More Races (6.3%). 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 Pinder (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 Pinder mean?
An occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of pins, or a keeper of stray animals in a pound. 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 Pinder (1.35 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 Americans have the surname Pinder?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.