NameCensus.

UK surname

Pinker

A surname referring to a person who dyed or sold fabric of a pinkish-red color.

In the 1881 census there were 140 people recorded with the Pinker surname, ranking it #16,151 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 192, ranked #20,118, down from #16,151 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, Bedminster and London parishes. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Cherwell, South Gloucestershire and Hinckley and Bosworth.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Pinker is 206 in 1998. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 37.1%.

1881 census count

140

Ranked #16,151

Modern count

192

2016, ranked #20,118

Peak year

1998

206 bearers

Map years

8

1861 to 2016

Key insights

  • Pinker had 140 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #16,151 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 192 in 2016, ranked #20,118.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 178 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Pinker surname distribution map

The map shows where the Pinker surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Pinker surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Pinker over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 92 #18,050
1861 historical 150 #15,296
1881 historical 140 #16,151
1891 historical 153 #18,078
1901 historical 146 #18,335
1911 historical 178 #16,073
1997 modern 177 #19,018
1998 modern 206 #17,796
1999 modern 204 #18,021
2000 modern 204 #17,987
2001 modern 197 #18,108
2002 modern 196 #18,535
2003 modern 190 #18,683
2004 modern 192 #18,678
2005 modern 180 #19,395
2006 modern 176 #19,787
2007 modern 172 #20,321
2008 modern 175 #20,311
2009 modern 178 #20,486
2010 modern 177 #21,034
2011 modern 179 #20,732
2012 modern 189 #19,949
2013 modern 200 #19,524
2014 modern 201 #19,641
2015 modern 200 #19,567
2016 modern 192 #20,118

Geography

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Where Pinkers are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, Bedminster, London parishes, St Philip and Jacob and Box, Ditteridge. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Cherwell, South Gloucestershire and Hinckley and Bosworth. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff Gloucestershire
2 Bedminster Somerset
3 London parishes London 3
4 St Philip and Jacob Gloucestershire
5 Box, Ditteridge Wiltshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Cherwell 013 Cherwell
2 Cherwell 019 Cherwell
3 South Gloucestershire 024 South Gloucestershire
4 Hinckley and Bosworth 011 Hinckley and Bosworth
5 South Gloucestershire 029 South Gloucestershire

Forenames

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First names often paired with Pinker

These lists show first names that appear often with the Pinker surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Pinker

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Pinker, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities

Group

Rural Amenity

Nationally, the Pinker surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Pinker household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Wider pattern

Pervasive throughout the UK, members of this Supergroup typically own (or are buying) their detached, semi-detached or terraced homes. They are also typically educated to A Level/Highers or degree level and work in skilled or professional occupations. Typically born in the UK, some families have children, although the median adult age is above 45 and some property has become under-occupied after children have left home. This Supergroup is pervasive not only in suburban locations, but also in neighbourhoods at or beyond the edge of cities that adjoin rural parts of the country.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Pinker is most associated with areas classed as Inner London Working Professionals, part of Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These primarily Inner London neighbourhoods are more densely populated than the Supergroup average. Residents have a younger over-all age profile than the Supergroup as a whole, and are less likely to be owner occupiers. Full time employment is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup and multiple car ownership is uncommon. Chinese and non-EU-born European migrants are less in evidence than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

These neighbourhoods house people of all ages, predominantly of White British or European extraction. Resident turnover is low. Religious affiliation is less common than average and tends to be Christian if expressed. Homeownership, typically of terraced houses, is common but use of the social rented sector is not. Employment is typically in professional, managerial and associate professional or technical occupations. There are few full-time students. Level 4 qualifications are common. More households lack dependent children than have them which, considered alongside low levels of crowding and over-all age structure, indicates that many households may be post child-rearing and in late middle age. Incidence of disability is low, as is residence in communal establishments.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Pinker is most concentrated in decile 4 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname near the middle of the scale.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

4
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Pinker falls in decile 8 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

8
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Pinker is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 60-70 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

9
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Pinker, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Pinker

The surname Pinker originated in England during the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Old English word "pinca," meaning a finch or small bird. The name was initially given as a nickname to someone who was possibly associated with these birds, perhaps a bird catcher or someone who kept finches as pets.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landowners in England compiled under the orders of William the Conqueror, the name appears as "Pinkere." This early spelling variation suggests that the name was already in use before the Norman Conquest of 1066.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Pinker dates back to 1327, when a person named John Pynkere was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire. This record provides evidence of the surname's use in the 14th century.

During the 16th century, the name Pinker was found in various parts of England, including in the counties of Staffordshire, Warwickshire, and Worcestershire. The surname was also associated with place names such as Pinkney, a village in Oxfordshire, and Pinkney Green, a hamlet in Shropshire.

Notable individuals with the surname Pinker include:

1. Sir Robert Pinker (1564-1647), an English merchant and politician who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1638. 2. Thomas Pinker (1638-1719), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge from 1700 to 1701. 3. Mary Pinker (1726-1805), an English writer and poet known for her works on botany and natural history. 4. William Pinker (1793-1867), a British architect and surveyor who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Royal College of Surgeons. 5. Steven Pinker (born 1954), a Canadian-American cognitive psychologist, linguist, and popular science author known for his books on language, mind, and human nature.

Throughout history, the surname Pinker has been associated with various occupations and professions, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and experiences of those who bore this name.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Pinker families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Pinker surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Gloucestershire leads with 36 Pinkers recorded in 1881 and an index of 14.26x.

County Total Index
Gloucestershire 36 14.26x
Middlesex 24 1.86x
Wiltshire 14 12.30x
Somerset 13 6.27x
Surrey 12 1.91x
Sussex 10 4.61x
Oxfordshire 7 8.80x
Norfolk 5 2.53x
Lancashire 3 0.20x
Berkshire 2 2.07x
Dorset 2 2.37x
Essex 1 0.39x
Northamptonshire 1 0.83x
Nottinghamshire 1 0.58x
Renfrewshire 1 1.00x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Bristol St Philip Jacob in Gloucestershire leads with 22 Pinkers recorded in 1881 and an index of 92.55x.

Place Total Index
Bristol St Philip Jacob 22 92.55x
Westbury On Trym 14 163.74x
Islington London 13 10.42x
Camberwell 9 10.94x
Hove 8 84.03x
Bicester Market End 7 479.45x
Box 7 721.65x
Bedminster 6 30.82x
Corsham 6 361.45x
Fulham London 6 32.14x
Burgh St Peter 5 3125.00x
Walcot 3 27.17x
Bathwick 2 87.34x
Bermondsey 2 5.22x
Chaldon Herring 2 1333.33x
Clevedon 2 92.59x
Hastings St Mary 2 37.04x
Kirkdale 2 7.78x
Reading St Giles 2 21.10x
Westminster St John 2 12.76x
Bradford On Avon 1 27.40x
Egmanton 1 1000.00x
Greenock Oldor West 1 370.37x
Liverpool 1 1.08x
Northampton St Sepulchre 1 16.23x
Shoreditch London 1 1.79x
Southwark St George Martyr 1 3.86x
St Martin In Fields 1 12.97x
St Pancras London 1 0.97x
Wanstead 1 22.47x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Pinker surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 8
Matilda 6
Elizabeth 4
Emily 4
Ann 3
Frances 3
Jane 3
Alice 2
Annie 2
Norah 2
Ada 1
Amata 1
Amelia 1
Anna 1
Caroline 1
Clara 1
Edith 1
Eliza 1
Ellen 1
Emma 1
Emnelin 1
Ethel 1
Fanney 1
Florence 1
Hester 1
Kate 1
Louisa 1
Lucy 1
Margarett 1
Martha 1
Maud 1
May 1
Minnie 1
Rachel 1
Roseanna 1
Sarah 1
Sophia 1

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Pinker surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
William 11
Charles 6
Thomas 6
John 5
Arthur 4
George 4
Henry 4
James 4
Alfred 3
Frederick 2
Harry 2
Isaac 2
Joseph 2
Albert 1
Andrew 1
Douglas 1
Edwin 1
Ernest 1
Francis 1
Fredk. 1
Herbert 1
Percy 1
Richd. 1
Tom 1
Walter 1

FAQ

Pinker surname: questions and answers

How common was the Pinker surname in 1881?

In 1881, 140 people were recorded with the Pinker surname. That placed it at #16,151 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Pinker surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 192 in 2016. That gives Pinker a modern rank of #20,118.

What does the Pinker surname mean?

A surname referring to a person who dyed or sold fabric of a pinkish-red color.

What does the Pinker map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Pinker bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.