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

Pitkin, 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 Pitkin surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pitkin in America

Pitkin is the 19614th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pitkin surname appeared 1,375 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Pitkin.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pitkin 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 Pitkin

The surname Pitkin originates from England, where it first appeared in the early 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "pytt" meaning pit or hollow, and "cyning" meaning king, referring to someone who lived near a pit or hollow belonging to a king or lord.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1191, where a William de Pitchenho is mentioned. This spelling variation suggests the name's connection to a place called Pitchenho, which may have been a location with a pit or hollow.

In the Hundred Rolls of 1273, there is a record of a John de Pyteking, residing in Oxfordshire. This spelling closely resembles the modern form of the surname and provides further evidence of its longstanding presence in England.

The Pitkin name is also found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327, where a John Pytkyn is listed. This document provides an early example of the name's spelling, indicating its evolution over time.

One notable bearer of the Pitkin surname was Sir William Pitkin (1637-1694), an English lawyer and judge who served as a Justice of the King's Bench during the reign of King William III and Queen Mary II.

Another prominent figure was Reverend Caleb Pitkin (1695-1752), an American clergyman and educator who served as the first rector of Christ Church in Stratford, Connecticut, and later became the president of Yale College (now Yale University).

In the 18th century, Roger Pitkin (1711-1794) was a notable American politician who served as the Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut from 1766 to 1769 and played a significant role in the American Revolutionary War.

William Pitkin (1725-1787), a lawyer and politician from Connecticut, served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and was a signer of the Articles of Confederation in 1778.

Timothy Pitkin (1766-1847), an American writer and statistician, authored several influential works on political economy and statistics, including "A Statistical View of the Commerce of the United States" (1816) and "A Political and Civil History of the United States" (1828).

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pitkin

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

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 Pitkin 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 Pitkin 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 Pitkin was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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