2000
#4,791
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,734
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.50
Rare Last name
Pieper
An occupational surname for a pipe or flute player, or a maker of pipes or flutes.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,552 Americans carry the last name Pieper. That puts it at #5,136 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.20 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 45,386 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pieper 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
7.6K
1 in 45,386
Census rank
#5,136
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,586 bearers of the surname Pieper in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.20 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5136th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pieper, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pieper
The surname Pieper originated in Germany, with records dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to derive from the Middle Low German word "piper," meaning a piper or player of the pipe. This suggests that the name may have been an occupational surname for someone who played the pipe or pipe instrument.
The earliest known bearer of the name was Henricus Piper, who was mentioned in a record from the town of Lübeck in 1284. Other early spellings of the name include Pyper, Piper, and Pipper. During the Middle Ages, the name was particularly prevalent in the regions of Westphalia, Lower Saxony, and the Rhineland.
In the 14th century, a man named Johannes Piper was recorded as a citizen of the city of Cologne. A century later, in 1448, a certain Claus Pieper was mentioned in a document from the town of Soest in Westphalia.
One of the earliest documented instances of the name Pieper can be found in the Bremisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of historical documents from the city of Bremen, where a Hinricus Piper was mentioned in 1285.
During the 16th century, the name Pieper appeared in several historical records from various parts of Germany. For example, a man named Jasper Pieper was recorded as a citizen of Lübeck in 1536, while a certain Hans Pieper was mentioned in a document from the town of Osnabruck in 1572.
A notable bearer of the name was Johann Pieper (1504-1542), a German theologian and Protestant reformer who was a follower of Martin Luther. He served as a pastor in various cities, including Lübeck and Hamburg.
Another prominent figure was Tobias Pieper (1587-1652), a German jurist and diplomat who served as a councillor to the Prince-Elector of Brandenburg. He played a significant role in negotiating the Peace of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years' War.
In the 18th century, Johann Pieper (1714-1788) was a German composer and organist who worked in various churches in Westphalia and Saxony. He was known for his contributions to sacred music.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pieper
Among Census respondents with the surname Pieper, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Pieper 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 Pieper surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.5% · 6,092
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 226
- Two or more races2.5% · 165
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 64
- Black or African American0.4% · 26
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pieper
Pieper 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
#5,103
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,860
+126 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 2.33
Rank movement Down 312 places
2020
#5,136
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,586
-274 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 2.20
Rank movement Down 33 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,791 | 6,734 | 2.50 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,103 | 6,860 | 2.33 | +126 bearers (+1.9%) | Down 312 places |
| 2020 | #5,136 | 6,586 | 2.20 | -274 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 33 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 Pieper 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 | #5,103 | #5,136 | -0.6% |
| Count | 6,860 | 6,586 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 2.33 | 2.20 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pieper bearers went from 6,860 to 6,586 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 33 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,103 to #5,136.
FAQ
Pieper surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pieper?
Name Census estimates that about 7,552 living Americans carry the surname Pieper. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 45,386 residents.
How common is Pieper?
Pieper ranks #5,136 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.20 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,586 people with the surname Pieper. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,552), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.2 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.20 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Pieper.
Has Pieper become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pieper went from 6,860 recorded bearers to 6,586. That is a decrease of 274 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,103 to #5,136.
What does the Census say about the background of Pieper?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pieper, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Pieper in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (6,092 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pieper appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.5%), Hispanic (3.4%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Pieper (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 Pieper mean?
An occupational surname for a pipe or flute player, or a maker of pipes or flutes. 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 Pieper (2.20 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 people have the last name Pieper?
Find out how many people have the last name Pieper on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.