Find out how popular the last name Pinto is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Pinto.

Pinto, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Pinto surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pinto in America

Pinto is the 1687th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pinto surname appeared 21,366 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 7 people would have the surname Pinto.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pinto to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Pinto

The surname Pinto is of Portuguese origin, and it is derived from the word "pinto," which means "chick" or "young rooster" in Portuguese. The name can be traced back to the late Middle Ages in Portugal, where it was likely used as a nickname or descriptive name for someone who had a resemblance to a young chicken or rooster.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Pinto can be found in the "Livro das Linhagens" (Book of Lineages), a medieval Portuguese genealogical manuscript from the 13th century. This document mentions several individuals with the surname Pinto, suggesting that the name was already well-established by that time.

During the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, many Portuguese explorers and navigators bore the surname Pinto. One notable example is Fernão Mendes Pinto (c. 1509-1583), a Portuguese explorer and writer who traveled extensively throughout Asia and documented his adventures in his famous work "Peregrinação" (The Travels).

The Pinto surname also has a strong connection to the Azores Islands, an autonomous region of Portugal located in the mid-Atlantic Ocean. Many families with the surname Pinto can trace their roots back to these islands, where the name has been present for centuries.

In the 16th century, the Pinto name was associated with the Portuguese conquest and colonization of Brazil. Several early settlers and administrators in the Portuguese colony bore this surname, including Fernão Pinto de Sousa Coutinho (c. 1635-1703), a Portuguese military officer and colonial governor of Rio de Janeiro.

Another notable figure with the surname Pinto is Isaac Pinto (1717-1787), a Dutch-Jewish philosopher, writer, and financier who was born in Holland but traced his ancestry back to Portugal. He was a prominent figure in the Dutch Enlightenment and wrote extensively on topics such as economics, philosophy, and religion.

In more recent times, the Pinto surname has spread globally due to Portuguese emigration and diaspora communities. Some notable individuals with this last name include Roberto Pinto (1975-), a Chilean footballer who played for several European clubs; Andrés Pinto (1969-), a Colombian artist and sculptor; and Inês Pinto (1979-), a Portuguese actress and model.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pinto

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Pinto.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Pinto was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Pinto has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Pinto was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Pinto, please contact us.

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