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

Pitt, 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 Pitt surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pitt in America

Pitt is the 3873rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pitt surname appeared 9,151 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Pitt.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pitt 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 Pitt

The surname Pitt has its origins in England, tracing back to the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Old English word "pytt," which means a pit or a hole in the ground. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a pit or worked as a pit digger.

During the Middle Ages, surnames were often derived from occupations, physical characteristics, or geographical locations. The name Pitt likely emerged as a descriptive surname, given to someone associated with a pit or a pit-like feature in the landscape.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Pitt can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of landowners and tenants commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears as "Pitte" or "Pytt" in various entries, indicating its presence in different parts of England at that time.

In the 13th century, the surname Pitt appears in various historical records, such as the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where it is listed as "Pitte" and "Pytte." This suggests that the name had become more widespread and established as a hereditary surname by that point.

The name Pitt is also associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest known figures was William Pitt (c. 1275-1326), a Member of Parliament for Gloucester during the reign of Edward II. Another notable bearer of the name was William Pitt the Elder (1708-1778), a British statesman who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768.

Perhaps the most famous individual with the surname Pitt was William Pitt the Younger (1759-1806), the son of William Pitt the Elder. He served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1783 to 1801 and again from 1804 to 1806, leading Britain during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

Other notable historical figures with the surname Pitt include Thomas Pitt (1653-1726), an English merchant and founder of the Pitt Diamond, one of the largest and most famous diamonds in the world, and Dorothy Pitt (1598-1678), an English woman who was tried and acquitted of witchcraft during the infamous Salem Witch Trials in colonial Massachusetts.

The surname Pitt has also been associated with various place names throughout England, such as Pitt Town in Kent, Pitt Meadows in Surrey, and Pitt Park in Hampshire. These place names likely derived from the surname itself, reflecting the influence and presence of individuals bearing the name Pitt in those areas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pitt

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

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

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

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