2000
#55,732
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 344
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.13
Very Rare Last name
Piere
An occupational surname derived from the Old French word "perier" meaning stone worker or mason.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 369 Americans carry the last name Piere. That puts it at #66,338 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.11 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 928,874 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Piere 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
369
1 in 928,874
Census rank
#66,338
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
322
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 322 bearers of the surname Piere in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.11 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 66338th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Piere, the largest self-reported group is Black at 47.2%. The next largest groups are White (42.9%) and Hispanic (5.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Piere
The surname Piere originated in France in the early medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old French word "pierre," meaning "stone" or "rock." This name may have been given to someone who lived near a rocky area or worked as a stonemason.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Piere can be found in documents from the 12th and 13th centuries, such as the Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Saint-Père de Chartres, where it appears as "Petrus de Petra" or "Pierre de la Pierre." These early spellings suggest that the name was initially a descriptive nickname that later became a hereditary surname.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in the Rolls of the Hundred Years' War, which recorded the names of French and English soldiers who fought in the conflict. One notable bearer of the name was Jean Piere (c. 1320-1380), a French knight who served under King John II during the Battle of Poitiers in 1356.
During the Renaissance period, the surname Piere was found in various regions of France, including Normandy, Burgundy, and the Île-de-France. One prominent figure was Gilles Piere (c. 1460-1524), a French architect and engineer who worked on the construction of the Château de Chambord and the Château de Blois.
In the 17th century, the surname Piere spread to other parts of Europe, including the Low Countries and Germany. One notable bearer was Pieter de Piere (1592-1673), a Dutch painter known for his landscape and seascape paintings.
Another notable individual with the surname Piere was Jean-Baptiste Piere (1713-1805), a French mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the calculation of planetary orbits and the prediction of eclipses.
Throughout history, the surname Piere has been associated with various professions, including stonemasons, architects, engineers, artists, and scholars. While the name may have originated as a descriptive nickname, it has become a distinct surname with a rich heritage spanning centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Piere
Among Census respondents with the surname Piere, the largest self-reported group is Black at 47.2%. The next largest groups are White (42.9%) and Hispanic (5.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Piere 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 Piere surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American47.2% · 152
- White42.9% · 138
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 16
- Two or more races4.3% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Piere
Piere 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
#58,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 349
+5 bearers (+1.5%)
Per 100,000 0.12
Rank movement Down 2,450 places
2020
#66,338
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 322
-27 bearers (-7.7%)
Per 100,000 0.11
Rank movement Down 8,156 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #55,732 | 344 | 0.13 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #58,182 | 349 | 0.12 | +5 bearers (+1.5%) | Down 2,450 places |
| 2020 | #66,338 | 322 | 0.11 | -27 bearers (-7.7%) | Down 8,156 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 Piere 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 | #58,182 | #66,338 | -14.0% |
| Count | 349 | 322 | -7.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.12 | 0.11 | -10.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Piere bearers went from 349 to 322 (-7.7% change). The surname moved down 8,156 positions in the national ranking, going from #58,182 to #66,338.
FAQ
Piere surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Piere?
Name Census estimates that about 369 living Americans carry the surname Piere. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 928,874 residents.
How common is Piere?
Piere ranks #66,338 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.11 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 322 people with the surname Piere. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (369), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.11 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.11 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Piere.
Has Piere become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Piere went from 349 recorded bearers to 322. That is a decrease of 27 (-7.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #58,182 to #66,338.
What does the Census say about the background of Piere?
Among Census respondents with the surname Piere, the largest self-reported group is Black at 47.2%. The next largest groups are White (42.9%) and Hispanic (5.0%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Piere in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.2% (152 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Piere appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (47.2%), White (42.9%), Hispanic (5.0%). 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 Piere (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 Piere mean?
An occupational surname derived from the Old French word "perier" meaning stone worker or mason. 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 Piere (0.11 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 Piere?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans have the surname Piere on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.