The Pinkerton surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 8,446 people carried this name — #4,195 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 35,000 people counted. That is up 3% from 8,164 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Pinkerton surname

A habitational surname from Old English.

Habitational surname from a place near Dunbar, from an unexplained first element + Old English tūn (“enclosure”). This surname is well established in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Pinkerton» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Punchardon’.

An early record he cites: Olyver de Punchardon, Devon, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 607 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 7 births for the Pinkerton name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 300 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Antrim.”

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 6
Leinster 1

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

23 Pinkerton families were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 147 people lived in those households, 6.4 to a family on average. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Pennsylvania 14
New Hampshire 3
New York 2
Connecticut 1
Virginia 1
North Carolina 1
South Carolina 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 257 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Pinkerton in American newspapers,
1892–1907.

Newspaper page from New-york Tribune carrying the name Pinkerton
New-york Tribune 1907-08-25
Newspaper page from New-york Tribune carrying the name Pinkerton
New-york Tribune 1892-07-07
Newspaper page from New-york Tribune carrying the name Pinkerton
New-york Tribune 1892-07-09

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Pinkerton in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

19,901 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Pinkerton. The most, 5,763, date from the 1920s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in South Australia, at 1.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 6,483
Victoria 5,365
South Australia 3,694
Queensland 1,948
Tasmania 1,282
Western Australia 1,026
ACT (Canberra) 55
Northern Territory 9

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Pinkerton.

Who carried it

People named Pinkerton,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Allan Pinkerton
    Allan Pinkerton 1819–1884 · writer
  • Allan Pinkerton
    Allan Pinkerton 1819–1884 · writer
  • Allan Pinkerton
    Allan Pinkerton 1819–1884 · writer
  • Allan Pinkerton
    Allan Pinkerton 1819–1884 · writer
  • John Pinkerton 1758–1826 · writer
  • John Pinkerton 1758–1826 · writer

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Pinkerton,
in the records of 6 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States746 records

746 records of the Pinkerton name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 270
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 171
  • Other U.S. records 305
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Estel C. Pinkerton

    Born 1916 in North Carolina. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Jackson Columbia, South Carolina; driver. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1994, buried at Western Carolina State Veteran Cemetery, North Carolina.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Catherine Pinkerton

    Arrived at New York in 1866 aboard the John Bright from Liverpool, aged 25; servant. From Ireland; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Lloyd D. Pinkerton

    Born 1947; from Huntington, Indiana. U.S. Army, heavy anti-armor weapons infantryman; killed in action 1967 in Binh Duong, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 746 records for Pinkerton in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia359 records

359 records of the Pinkerton name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 187
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 86
  • Other Australian records 86
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Elizabeth Pinkerton

    Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1836. Married 1837 in Hobart, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record George Pinkerton

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Sir William Bensley, arriving 1817.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jeannie Pinkerton

    Arrived in Victoria in 1887 aboard the Liguria, aged 23; Scottish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 359 records for Pinkerton in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada50 records

50 records of the Pinkerton name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 25
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 10
  • Other Canadian records 15
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Mildred Eunice Pinkerton

    Buried in 2000 at Burnsland Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 94.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Andrew Pinkerton

    Died 1935 in New Waterford, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Lewis St Clair Pinkerton

    Died in service in 1945.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 50 records for Pinkerton in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom9 records

9 records of the Pinkerton name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 5
  • Scottish rolls of honour, First World War 2
  • Other British records 2
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Ophelia Pinkerton

    Will proved in 1932; of Bangor, Carnarvon.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record John Pinkerton

    Born 1882. Died 1916. Named in the University of Edinburgh roll of honour, 1914-1919.

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. S. Pinkerton

    Lancashire Fusiliers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 9 records for Pinkerton in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand4 records

4 records of the Pinkerton name in New Zealand
  • Timaru and Mackenzie District cemetery records 3
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William Pinkerton

    Died 1918, aged 75; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 1 of 4 records for Pinkerton in New Zealand.

Counts: Canterbury Maps (Environment Canterbury), Timaru and Mackenzie District Councils (CC BY 3.0 NZ) · Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Pinkerton name in the Netherlands Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record John Pinkerton

    Died 1815 in Nijmegen, aged 21; soldier.

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Pinkerton.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Pinkerton is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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