2000
#11,507
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,509
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.93
Rare Last name
Pixley
A locational surname derived from a place name meaning "Pic's clearing" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,629 Americans carry the last name Pixley. That puts it at #12,821 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.77 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 130,374 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pixley 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
2.6K
1 in 130,374
Census rank
#12,821
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,293 bearers of the surname Pixley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.77 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12821st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pixley, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.5%. The next largest groups are Black (11.4%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pixley
Among Census respondents with the surname Pixley, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.5%. The next largest groups are Black (11.4%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Pixley 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 Pixley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.5% · 1,822
- Black or African American11.4% · 262
- Two or more races4.2% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 93
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pixley
Pixley 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
#12,357
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,516
+7 bearers (+0.3%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Down 850 places
2020
#12,821
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,293
-223 bearers (-8.9%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Down 464 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,507 | 2,509 | 0.93 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,357 | 2,516 | 0.85 | +7 bearers (+0.3%) | Down 850 places |
| 2020 | #12,821 | 2,293 | 0.77 | -223 bearers (-8.9%) | Down 464 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 Pixley 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 | #12,357 | #12,821 | -3.8% |
| Count | 2,516 | 2,293 | -8.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.85 | 0.77 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pixley bearers went from 2,516 to 2,293 (-8.9% change). The surname moved down 464 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,357 to #12,821.
FAQ
Pixley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pixley?
Name Census estimates that about 2,629 living Americans carry the surname Pixley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 130,374 residents.
How common is Pixley?
Pixley ranks #12,821 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.77 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,293 people with the surname Pixley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,629), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.77 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.77 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Pixley.
Has Pixley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pixley went from 2,516 recorded bearers to 2,293. That is a decrease of 223 (-8.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,357 to #12,821.
What does the Census say about the background of Pixley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pixley, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.5%. The next largest groups are Black (11.4%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Pixley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.5% (1,822 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pixley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.5%), Black (11.4%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Pixley (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 Pixley mean?
A locational surname derived from a place name meaning "Pic's clearing" in Old English. 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 Pixley (0.77 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 common is the surname Pixley?
Find out how many people have the surname Pixley on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.