2000
#573
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 52,689
First available Census row
Per 100,000 19.53
Uncommon Last name
Pittman
A surname referring to someone who worked in or owned a pit, such as a coal mine or clay pit.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 60,022 Americans carry the last name Pittman. That puts it at #630 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 17.51 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 5,710 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pittman 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 Pittman with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
60K
1 in 5,710
Census rank
#630
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
17.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
52K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 52,342 bearers of the surname Pittman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 17.51 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 630th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pittman, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.8%. The next largest groups are Black (30.7%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pittman
The surname PITTMAN has its origins in England, with records dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English words "pytt" meaning a pit or hollow and "mann" meaning a man or worker. The name likely referred to someone who worked in a pit or quarry, or lived near a pit or hollow in the landscape.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1195, where it appears as "Pitteman". The surname is also found in various medieval records such as the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, where it is spelled "Pyteman".
During the 13th and 14th centuries, the name was primarily concentrated in the counties of Gloucestershire, Somerset, and Wiltshire in the southwest of England. It is believed that the name may have originated in this region, where there were numerous quarries and pits used for mining and construction.
In the 16th century, the spelling of the name began to standardize, with variations like "Pittman", "Pitman", and "Pytman" becoming more common. One notable bearer of the name from this period was John Pittman (c.1525-1585), a Protestant martyr who was burned at the stake in Ipswich, Suffolk, during the reign of Queen Mary I.
As the name spread across England, it also became associated with various place names. For example, the village of Pitman's Cross in Gloucestershire likely derived its name from a family with the surname Pittman who lived in the area.
Other notable figures with the surname PITTMAN throughout history include:
1. Sir Edward Pittman (1629-1711), an English merchant and politician who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1689.
2. William Pittman (1766-1853), an English painter and engraver known for his landscape paintings and etchings.
3. John Pittman (1801-1876), an English architect who designed several notable buildings in London, including the former Royal Panopticon of Science and Art.
4. Thomas Pittman (1816-1891), an English cricketer who played for Sussex County Cricket Club in the mid-19th century.
5. Charles Pittman (1872-1945), an American politician who served as the 35th Governor of Nevada from 1935 to 1939.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pittman
Among Census respondents with the surname Pittman, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.8%. The next largest groups are Black (30.7%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Pittman 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 Pittman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White60.8% · 31,831
- Black or African American30.7% · 16,048
- Two or more races4.5% · 2,348
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 1,535
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 333
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 247
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pittman
Pittman 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
#619
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 55,021
+2,332 bearers (+4.4%)
Per 100,000 18.65
Rank movement Down 46 places
2020
#630
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 52,342
-2,679 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 17.51
Rank movement Down 11 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #573 | 52,689 | 19.53 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #619 | 55,021 | 18.65 | +2,332 bearers (+4.4%) | Down 46 places |
| 2020 | #630 | 52,342 | 17.51 | -2,679 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 11 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 Pittman 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 | #619 | #630 | -1.8% |
| Count | 55,021 | 52,342 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 18.65 | 17.51 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pittman bearers went from 55,021 to 52,342 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 11 positions in the national ranking, going from #619 to #630.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Pittman
FAQ
Pittman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pittman?
Name Census estimates that about 60,022 living Americans carry the surname Pittman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 5,710 residents.
How common is Pittman?
Pittman ranks #630 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 17.51 per 100,000 residents, which is about 18 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 52,342 people with the surname Pittman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (60,022), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 17.51 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 17.51 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 18 of them to have the surname Pittman.
Has Pittman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pittman went from 55,021 recorded bearers to 52,342. That is a decrease of 2,679 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #619 to #630.
What does the Census say about the background of Pittman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pittman, the largest self-reported group is White at 60.8%. The next largest groups are Black (30.7%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Pittman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.8% (31,831 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pittman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (60.8%), Black (30.7%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Pittman (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 Pittman mean?
A surname referring to someone who worked in or owned a pit, such as a coal mine or clay pit. 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 Pittman (17.51 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 Pittman?
Want to know how many people have the last name Pittman? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.