Pinkey
Feminine · “a pet name from pink”
Pinkey is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 574 girls against 6 boys since 1880.
Pinkey is an old American pet name, bright and affectionate, that was written on birth records in its own right. It sits between the color word pink, the little finger called the pinkie, and the surname Pinckney, which some families gave to sons.
How old is the name Pinkey?
Pinkey was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Pinkey alive today was born around 1920, making them about 105 years old. About 100 people named Pinkey are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Pinkey most popular?
Pinkey peaked in 1883, reaching #817 nationally. See the whole 1883 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From pink / Pinckney to Pinkey
The story of Pinkey
The pinkie, the little finger, is one of the few English words taken from Dutch in colonial New York: Dutch pink meant the smallest finger. The surname Pinckney belonged to a family of South Carolina statesmen, and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, asked by French agents for a bribe, answered No, no, not a sixpence; the grander line Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute was a later toast that was attached to his name. Pinkey was given in the South to girls as a pet name and, less often, to boys.
Meaningscholars disagree
a pet name from pink, or the surname Pinckney
For girls, Pinkey is most likely a pet name built on pink. For the few boys who carried it, it may echo the surname Pinckney, borne by a famous South Carolina family. The record does not say which families meant which.
How the name formed
- pink / Pinckney
- Pinkey
Pronouncing Pinkey
PINK-ee
Stress on the first syllable, said like the word pinkie.
Nicknames for Pinkey
Limited
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 191017 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #817reached in 1883
- Change vs 1959
- −37.5%5 in 1962, from 8
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Pinkeys among us
people named Pinkey are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Pinkey sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It is warm and cheerful and easy to say.
- It is almost never given now, so it is distinctive.
- It reads as a nickname or a child's pet name, which may feel young on an adult.
- It is also the word for the little finger, and people will make the connection.
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Pinkey
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Pinkeys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 100 people named Pinkey are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Pinkey in 2025?
- Pinkey is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Pinkey with classmates?
- Pinkey will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More P names
The most-given names starting with P, all years combined.
Patricia#1334 · Pamela#2239 · Phyllis#11932 · Peggy#8362 · Paula#853 · Pauline#2957 · Pearl#776 · Paige#346
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Pinkey? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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