2000
#639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 48,462
First available Census row
Per 100,000 17.96
Uncommon Last name
Pitts
A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a pit or hollow.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 53,959 Americans carry the last name Pitts. That puts it at #713 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 15.74 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 6,352 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pitts 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 Pitts with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
54K
1 in 6,352
Census rank
#713
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
15.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
47K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 47,055 bearers of the surname Pitts in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 15.74 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 713th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pitts, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.6%. The next largest groups are Black (30.8%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pitts
The surname Pitts originated in England, with its earliest recorded use dating back to the 13th century. The name is believed to have derived from the Old English word "pytt," meaning a pit or hollow. This could suggest that the name was initially given to people who lived near a pit or worked in pit-related occupations.
Pitts is also thought to have connections to various place names in England, such as Pitt Town in Kent and Pitt Meadows in Surrey. These place names likely influenced the development and spread of the surname.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Pitts can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which listed a John de la Putte. The Domesday Book, compiled in 1086, does not contain the surname Pitts, but it does mention several place names with similar spellings, such as "Pitte" and "Pite."
Notable individuals with the surname Pitts throughout history include William Pitt the Elder (1708-1778), a British statesman who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain, and his son, William Pitt the Younger (1759-1806), who also held the position of Prime Minister. Another prominent figure was Sir Christopher Pitts (1622-1687), an English merchant and politician who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1689.
Other individuals with the surname Pitts include Zion Pitts (1765-1838), an American Baptist minister and educator, and Lizette Woodworth Pitts (1858-1924), an American poet and novelist. Additionally, Joseph Pitts (1663-1735) was an English sailor who was captured by Algerian pirates and later wrote a memoir about his experiences.
While the surname Pitts has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and Australia, due to migration and immigration patterns.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pitts
Among Census respondents with the surname Pitts, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.6%. The next largest groups are Black (30.8%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Pitts 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 Pitts surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White60.6% · 28,515
- Black or African American30.8% · 14,497
- Two or more races4.6% · 2,183
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 1,384
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 251
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 225
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pitts
Pitts 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
#693
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 49,740
+1,278 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 16.86
Rank movement Down 54 places
2020
#713
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 47,055
-2,685 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 15.74
Rank movement Down 20 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #639 | 48,462 | 17.96 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #693 | 49,740 | 16.86 | +1,278 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 54 places |
| 2020 | #713 | 47,055 | 15.74 | -2,685 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 20 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 Pitts 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 | #693 | #713 | -2.9% |
| Count | 49,740 | 47,055 | -5.4% |
| Per 100K | 16.86 | 15.74 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pitts bearers went from 49,740 to 47,055 (-5.4% change). The surname moved down 20 positions in the national ranking, going from #693 to #713.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Pitts
FAQ
Pitts surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pitts?
Name Census estimates that about 53,959 living Americans carry the surname Pitts. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 6,352 residents.
How common is Pitts?
Pitts ranks #713 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 15.74 per 100,000 residents, which is about 16 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 47,055 people with the surname Pitts. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (53,959), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 15.74 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 15.74 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 16 of them to have the surname Pitts.
Has Pitts become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pitts went from 49,740 recorded bearers to 47,055. That is a decrease of 2,685 (-5.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #693 to #713.
What does the Census say about the background of Pitts?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pitts, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.6%. The next largest groups are Black (30.8%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Pitts in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.6% (28,515 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pitts appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (60.6%), Black (30.8%), Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Pitts (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 Pitts mean?
A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a pit or hollow. 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 Pitts (15.74 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 Americans have the surname Pitts?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.