2000
#57,090
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 334
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.12
Very Rare Last name
Pirkey
A locational surname derived from an English place name meaning "the pear tree meadow".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 405 Americans carry the last name Pirkey. That puts it at #61,433 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.12 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 846,307 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pirkey 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
405
1 in 846,307
Census rank
#61,433
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
353
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 353 bearers of the surname Pirkey in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.12 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 61433rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pirkey, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pirkey
The surname Pirkey is of German origin, originating in the late 16th century. It is likely derived from the Middle High German word "birnbaum," meaning "pear tree." The name was initially used as a descriptive term for someone who lived near or worked with pear trees or orchards.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Pirkey can be found in the town records of Freiburg, Germany, dated 1587, where a certain Hans Pirkey is mentioned as a landowner. Another early reference is in the church registry of Heidelberg, Germany, from 1612, which lists the baptism of a child named Anna Pirkey.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the name Pirkey spread across various regions of Germany, with some variations in spelling, such as Pirkei, Pirkay, and Pirckay. One notable individual bearing this surname was Johann Pirkey (1678-1741), a renowned clockmaker from Nuremberg, whose intricate timepieces were highly sought after by the nobility of the time.
As German immigrants began to settle in other parts of Europe and North America, the name Pirkey traveled with them. In the early 19th century, a family by the name of Pirkey established themselves in the town of Yorkville, Illinois, where they became successful farmers and landowners.
Another notable figure with the surname Pirkey was Wilhelm Pirkey (1822-1892), a German-American civil engineer and architect who designed several prominent buildings in St. Louis, Missouri, including the Old Courthouse and the Merchants Exchange Building.
In the 20th century, one of the most famous individuals with the surname Pirkey was Robert Pirkey (1914-1989), an American lawyer and legal scholar who specialized in intellectual property law. He was widely regarded as one of the foremost authorities on patent and trademark law and authored numerous publications on the subject.
Other individuals with the surname Pirkey who left their mark include Alfred Pirkey (1883-1962), a German-American artist known for his landscape paintings of the American Southwest, and Marjorie Pirkey (1927-2008), a respected educator and author of children's books.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pirkey
Among Census respondents with the surname Pirkey, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Pirkey 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 Pirkey surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.4% · 319
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 14
- Two or more races2.5% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 7
- Black or African American0.8% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pirkey
Pirkey 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
#58,604
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 346
+12 bearers (+3.6%)
Per 100,000 0.12
Rank movement Down 1,514 places
2020
#61,433
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 353
+7 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 0.12
Rank movement Down 2,829 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #57,090 | 334 | 0.12 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #58,604 | 346 | 0.12 | +12 bearers (+3.6%) | Down 1,514 places |
| 2020 | #61,433 | 353 | 0.12 | +7 bearers (+2.0%) | Down 2,829 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 Pirkey 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 | #58,604 | #61,433 | -4.8% |
| Count | 346 | 353 | 2.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.12 | 0.12 | -1.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pirkey bearers went from 346 to 353 (+2.0% change). The surname moved down 2,829 positions in the national ranking, going from #58,604 to #61,433.
FAQ
Pirkey surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pirkey?
Name Census estimates that about 405 living Americans carry the surname Pirkey. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 846,307 residents.
How common is Pirkey?
Pirkey ranks #61,433 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.12 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 353 people with the surname Pirkey. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (405), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.12 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.12 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Pirkey.
Has Pirkey become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pirkey went from 346 recorded bearers to 353. That is an increase of 7 (+2.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #58,604 to #61,433.
What does the Census say about the background of Pirkey?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pirkey, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Pirkey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.4% (319 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pirkey appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.4%), Hispanic (4.0%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Pirkey (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 Pirkey mean?
A locational surname derived from an English place name meaning "the pear tree meadow". 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 Pirkey (0.12 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 surname Pirkey?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.