2000
#13,702
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,030
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.75
Rare Last name
Pingel
A German occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of shingles or roof tiles.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,485 Americans carry the last name Pingel. That puts it at #13,438 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.72 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 137,929 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pingel 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
2.5K
1 in 137,929
Census rank
#13,438
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,167 bearers of the surname Pingel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.72 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13438th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pingel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pingel
The surname Pingel is believed to have originated in Germany, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 16th century. The name is thought to be derived from the Low German word "pingeln," which means "to drop or trickle." It's possible that the name was originally an occupational surname, referring to someone who worked with liquids or had a job related to dripping or trickling.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Pingel surname can be found in the village of Bredenbeck, located in the district of Wunstorf in Lower Saxony, Germany. In the 16th century, there was a family residing in Bredenbeck with the surname Pingel, and their name appeared in various church records and local documents.
The Pingel surname has also been documented in other regions of Germany, including Saxony, Brandenburg, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. In some areas, the name was spelled slightly differently, such as "Pingle" or "Pingele," but these variations ultimately stem from the same root word.
Notable individuals throughout history who carried the Pingel surname include Johann Pingel (1537-1599), a German theologian and Protestant reformer from Saxony. Additionally, there was Johann Georg Pingel (1699-1768), a German composer and organist who was born in Mühlhausen, Thuringia.
Another noteworthy figure was Carl Friedrich Pingel (1792-1861), a German military officer and cartographer who served in the Prussian Army during the Napoleonic Wars. He is known for his contributions to cartography, particularly his detailed maps of the Prussian territories.
In the 19th century, there was also a German painter named Carl Pingel (1829-1896), who was born in Berlin and became known for his landscape paintings depicting scenes from the countryside around Brandenburg.
Furthermore, the Pingel surname has been associated with several prominent families in Germany, such as the Pingel family from Lübeck, who were involved in the trade and shipping industry during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Overall, the surname Pingel has a rich history rooted in various regions of Germany, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 16th century. While its precise origin is not entirely clear, the name is believed to be derived from the Low German word "pingeln," potentially referring to an occupation related to liquids or dripping.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pingel
Among Census respondents with the surname Pingel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Pingel 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 Pingel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.5% · 2,004
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 73
- Two or more races2.7% · 59
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 9
- Black or African American0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pingel
Pingel 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
#14,160
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,121
+91 bearers (+4.5%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Down 458 places
2020
#13,438
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,167
+46 bearers (+2.2%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Up 722 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,702 | 2,030 | 0.75 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,160 | 2,121 | 0.72 | +91 bearers (+4.5%) | Down 458 places |
| 2020 | #13,438 | 2,167 | 0.72 | +46 bearers (+2.2%) | Up 722 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 Pingel 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 | #14,160 | #13,438 | 5.1% |
| Count | 2,121 | 2,167 | 2.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.72 | 0.72 | 0.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pingel bearers went from 2,121 to 2,167 (+2.2% change). The surname moved up 722 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,160 to #13,438.
FAQ
Pingel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pingel?
Name Census estimates that about 2,485 living Americans carry the surname Pingel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 137,929 residents.
How common is Pingel?
Pingel ranks #13,438 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.72 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 2,167 people with the surname Pingel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,485), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.72 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.72 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 Pingel.
Has Pingel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pingel went from 2,121 recorded bearers to 2,167. That is an increase of 46 (+2.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #14,160 to #13,438.
What does the Census say about the background of Pingel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pingel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Pingel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (2,004 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pingel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.5%), Hispanic (3.4%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Pingel (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 Pingel mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of shingles or roof tiles. 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 Pingel (0.72 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 Pingel?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Pingel is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.