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

Pixley, 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 Pixley surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pixley in America

Pixley is the 12357th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pixley surname appeared 2,516 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Pixley.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pixley 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 Pixley

The surname Pixley originated in England during the Middle Ages. It is likely derived from a place name, as many English surnames have their roots in the names of towns, villages, or geographic features. One theory suggests that Pixley may have come from a location called "Pixley" in the county of Herefordshire, which was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Picheslei."

Another possible origin is that Pixley is a variant spelling of the surname "Picksley," which is believed to have originated from a place called "Picksley" in the county of Yorkshire. This name may have been derived from the Old English words "picc," meaning a small hill or peak, and "leah," meaning a meadow or clearing.

The earliest recorded instance of the surname Pixley dates back to the 13th century. In 1273, a man named Richard de Pixley was mentioned in the Hundred Rolls, a census-like record of landowners in England at that time.

One notable individual with the Pixley surname was John Pixley (1599-1673), an English lawyer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Salisbury during the English Civil War. Another was William Pixley (1779-1848), a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars.

In the United States, the name Pixley is associated with Frank Pixley (1825-1895), a newspaper editor and politician from Ohio who later moved to California and served as the state's Attorney General from 1867 to 1871.

Another prominent American with the Pixley surname was Olive Pixley (1890-1979), a social worker and women's rights activist who played a key role in establishing the first federal Social Security program in the United States.

Francis William Pixley (1852-1933) was a British architect who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Savoy Hotel and the Tate Britain art gallery.

While the origins of the Pixley surname can be traced back to medieval England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, carried by individuals and families who emigrated from Britain over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pixley

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!