2000
#1,537
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,526
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.98
Uncommon Last name
Piper
An occupational surname referring to a player of the pipe or flute, or a piper in the military.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 24,546 Americans carry the last name Piper. That puts it at #1,628 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.16 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 13,964 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Piper 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 Piper with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
25K
1 in 13,964
Census rank
#1,628
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
21K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 21,405 bearers of the surname Piper in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.16 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1628th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Piper, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.4%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Piper
The surname Piper originated in Britain, likely taking root in the late 13th century or early 14th century. It is an occupational name derived from the Old English term "pipere," which referred to a player of the pipe or piper of music. The name became prominent as individuals took on these occupational roles during the medieval period.
Variations of the name spelling, such as Pyper and Piper, can be found in early English records, including the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which documented individuals with this occupational title. The Pipe Rolls, a series of financial records from the medieval English Exchequer, also contain references to individuals with the surname Piper.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Piper can be traced back to Walter le Pipere, who was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1296. Another early record is that of John le Pyper, found in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire in 1301.
The surname Piper has been associated with various locations in England, including Piper's Hill in Leicestershire, Piper's Green in Hertfordshire, and Piper's Wood in Buckinghamshire. These place names likely derived from individuals with the Piper surname who resided or worked in those areas.
Notable individuals throughout history with the surname Piper include:
1. Thomas Piper (c. 1530-1616), an English composer and musician during the Renaissance period.
2. William Piper (1592-1671), an English theologian and author of several religious works.
3. Francis Piper (1628-1696), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Winchester.
4. Johann Ernst Piper (1777-1857), a German artist and printmaker known for his landscape etchings.
5. Carl Piper (1647-1716), a Swedish statesman and diplomat who served as the Lord High Chancellor of Sweden.
The Piper surname has a rich history rooted in the ancient occupation of pipe playing, and it has been carried by individuals from various walks of life throughout the centuries, spanning the fields of music, literature, politics, and art.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Piper
Among Census respondents with the surname Piper, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.4%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Piper 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 Piper surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.4% · 17,851
- Black or African American8.0% · 1,716
- Two or more races3.8% · 823
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 651
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 185
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 179
Timeline
Historical Census data for Piper
Piper 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
#1,607
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,329
+803 bearers (+3.7%)
Per 100,000 7.57
Rank movement Down 70 places
2020
#1,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,405
-924 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 7.16
Rank movement Down 21 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,537 | 21,526 | 7.98 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,607 | 22,329 | 7.57 | +803 bearers (+3.7%) | Down 70 places |
| 2020 | #1,628 | 21,405 | 7.16 | -924 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 21 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 Piper 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 | #1,607 | #1,628 | -1.3% |
| Count | 22,329 | 21,405 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 7.57 | 7.16 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Piper bearers went from 22,329 to 21,405 (-4.1% change). The surname moved down 21 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,607 to #1,628.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Piper
FAQ
Piper surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Piper?
Name Census estimates that about 24,546 living Americans carry the surname Piper. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 13,964 residents.
How common is Piper?
Piper ranks #1,628 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.16 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 21,405 people with the surname Piper. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (24,546), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.16 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.16 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Piper.
Has Piper become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Piper went from 22,329 recorded bearers to 21,405. That is a decrease of 924 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,607 to #1,628.
What does the Census say about the background of Piper?
Among Census respondents with the surname Piper, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.4%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Piper in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.4% (17,851 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Piper appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.4%), Black (8.0%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Piper (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 Piper mean?
An occupational surname referring to a player of the pipe or flute, or a piper in the military. 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 Piper (7.16 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 Piper?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.