2000
#5,396
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,938
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.20
Rare Last name
Pinkney
Derives from the place name Pinkeny in Normandy, France, likely referring to a person from that locality.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,062 Americans carry the last name Pinkney. That puts it at #5,460 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 48,535 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pinkney 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 Pinkney with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.1K
1 in 48,535
Census rank
#5,460
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,158 bearers of the surname Pinkney in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5460th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pinkney, the largest self-reported group is Black at 80.1%. The next largest groups are White (10.8%) and Two or More Races (5.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pinkney
The surname Pinkney is of English origin, derived from an old Anglo-Saxon personal name "Pinca" or "Pinca's ey" meaning "the island of Pinca." This name likely originated in the area of Norfolk, England during the early medieval period.
Records show that the name Pinkney was first documented in the Domesday Book of 1086, which recorded landowners in England following the Norman Conquest. It is believed that the earliest recorded bearer of this name was Radulfus Pinchenei, a Norman landowner holding estates in Norfolk.
During the 13th century, the name appeared in various spellings such as Pynkeneye, Pynkeny, and Pynkeneye. These variations were influenced by local dialects and the scribes who recorded the names at the time.
One notable bearer of the Pinkney name was Henry Pinkney (c. 1391-1453), an English landowner and Member of Parliament for Norfolk in 1429. Another was William Pinkney (1764-1822), an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat who served as the 8th United States Attorney General from 1811 to 1814.
In the 18th century, the Pinkney family established themselves in Maryland, United States. William Pinkney (1764-1822) was born in Annapolis, Maryland, and his son, Edward Coate Pinkney (1802-1828), was a renowned American poet and scholar.
Another notable figure was Thomas Pinkney (1619-1663), an English lawyer and politician who served as Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer from 1660 to 1663.
The Pinkney surname also had connections to various place names in England, such as Pinkney Green in Gloucestershire and Pinkney's Green in Buckinghamshire, further solidifying its English origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pinkney
Among Census respondents with the surname Pinkney, the largest self-reported group is Black at 80.1%. The next largest groups are White (10.8%) and Two or More Races (5.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Pinkney 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 Pinkney surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American80.1% · 4,930
- White10.8% · 663
- Two or more races5.7% · 348
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 185
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pinkney
Pinkney 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
#5,456
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,378
+440 bearers (+7.4%)
Per 100,000 2.16
Rank movement Down 60 places
2020
#5,460
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,158
-220 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 2.06
Rank movement Down 4 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,396 | 5,938 | 2.20 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,456 | 6,378 | 2.16 | +440 bearers (+7.4%) | Down 60 places |
| 2020 | #5,460 | 6,158 | 2.06 | -220 bearers (-3.4%) | Down 4 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 Pinkney 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 | #5,456 | #5,460 | -0.1% |
| Count | 6,378 | 6,158 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.16 | 2.06 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pinkney bearers went from 6,378 to 6,158 (-3.4% change). The surname moved down 4 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,456 to #5,460.
FAQ
Pinkney surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pinkney?
Name Census estimates that about 7,062 living Americans carry the surname Pinkney. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 48,535 residents.
How common is Pinkney?
Pinkney ranks #5,460 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.06 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 6,158 people with the surname Pinkney. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,062), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.06 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 Pinkney.
Has Pinkney become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pinkney went from 6,378 recorded bearers to 6,158. That is a decrease of 220 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,456 to #5,460.
What does the Census say about the background of Pinkney?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pinkney, the largest self-reported group is Black at 80.1%. The next largest groups are White (10.8%) and Two or More Races (5.7%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Pinkney in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.1% (4,930 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pinkney appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (80.1%), White (10.8%), Two or More Races (5.7%). 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 Pinkney (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 Pinkney mean?
Derives from the place name Pinkeny in Normandy, France, likely referring to a person from that locality. 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 Pinkney (2.06 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 share the surname Pinkney?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.