2000
#9,649
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,090
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.15
Rare Last name
Pinney
Derived from a place name meaning "hill" or "peak" in Old English, or from the personal name "Pinel."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,309 Americans carry the last name Pinney. That puts it at #10,596 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.97 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 103,582 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pinney 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 Pinney with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.3K
1 in 103,582
Census rank
#10,596
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,886 bearers of the surname Pinney in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.97 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10596th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pinney, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pinney
The surname Pinney is of English origin, tracing its roots back to the medieval period. It is believed to be a locational name derived from the place known as "Pinney" or "Pynney" in Buckinghamshire, England. The name is thought to come from the Old English words "pinn" or "pyn," meaning a hill or a peak, and "ieg" or "eg," meaning an island, suggesting that the original bearer of the name may have hailed from a hilly or elevated area surrounded by water.
Historically, the surname Pinney can be found in various ancient records and documents. One of the earliest known references is in the Pipe Rolls of Buckinghamshire from 1230, where a Robert de Pynneye is mentioned. The Subsidy Rolls of Buckinghamshire from 1327 also list a John de Pynneye. These early occurrences suggest that the name was well-established in the region by the 13th and 14th centuries.
The Pinney surname has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest recorded was Sir John Pinney (c. 1440-1498), a wealthy merchant and alderman of London who served as Lord Mayor in 1490. Another prominent figure was Reverend John Pinney (1647-1718), a Puritan minister and author from Oxfordshire, who wrote several religious works.
In the 18th century, the Pinney family played a significant role in the development of the British West Indies. John Pinney (1721-1768) and his son John Frederick Pinney (1758-1826) were influential planters and merchants in the colony of Nevis. John Frederick Pinney served as the President of the Nevis Assembly and was a prominent figure in the Caribbean sugar trade.
Another notable bearer of the name was Brigadier General Peter Pinney (1741-1830), a British Army officer who served during the American Revolutionary War and later became the Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man from 1804 to 1820.
In the 19th century, the name gained further recognition with Charles Pinney (1793-1867), a British businessman and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Lyme Regis from 1835 to 1847. He was also involved in various philanthropic endeavors and supported educational initiatives in Gloucestershire.
The Pinney surname has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including merchants, clergymen, planters, military officers, and politicians. While the name has its roots in Buckinghamshire, it has spread and gained prominence in different parts of England and the British colonies over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pinney
Among Census respondents with the surname Pinney, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Pinney 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 Pinney surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.4% · 2,523
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 108
- Two or more races3.7% · 108
- Black or African American3.6% · 103
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 21
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pinney
Pinney 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
#10,615
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,016
-74 bearers (-2.4%)
Per 100,000 1.02
Rank movement Down 966 places
2020
#10,596
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,886
-130 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.97
Rank movement Up 19 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,649 | 3,090 | 1.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,615 | 3,016 | 1.02 | -74 bearers (-2.4%) | Down 966 places |
| 2020 | #10,596 | 2,886 | 0.97 | -130 bearers (-4.3%) | Up 19 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 Pinney 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 | #10,615 | #10,596 | 0.2% |
| Count | 3,016 | 2,886 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.02 | 0.97 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pinney bearers went from 3,016 to 2,886 (-4.3% change). The surname moved up 19 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,615 to #10,596.
FAQ
Pinney surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pinney?
Name Census estimates that about 3,309 living Americans carry the surname Pinney. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 103,582 residents.
How common is Pinney?
Pinney ranks #10,596 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.97 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 2,886 people with the surname Pinney. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,309), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.97 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.97 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 Pinney.
Has Pinney become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pinney went from 3,016 recorded bearers to 2,886. That is a decrease of 130 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,615 to #10,596.
What does the Census say about the background of Pinney?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pinney, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Pinney in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.4% (2,523 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pinney appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.4%), Hispanic (3.7%), Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Pinney (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 Pinney mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "hill" or "peak" in Old English, or from the personal name "Pinel." 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 Pinney (0.97 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 common is the surname Pinney?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Pinney? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.