Explore the Family Name Pistole

The meaning of Pistole

German: from Pistole ‘pistol’, probably a nickname for a sharp and aggressive person. The vocabulary word is derived from Czech píšťala ‘whistle’; early pistols, invented in Bohemia in the 16th century, were thought to resemble whistles.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Pistole in the United States?

According to data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname "Pistole" has seen a decrease in both rank and count over a decade. In 2000, it ranked 34,757 and dropped to 38,439 in 2010, showing a 10.59% decrease. The number of people with this surname also declined by 6.34%, from 615 in 2000 to 576 in 2010. Furthermore, for every 100,000 people, the proportion of those named Pistole decreased by 13.04%, from 0.23 in 2000 to 0.2 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#34,757	#38,439	-10.59%
Count	615	576	-6.34%
Proportion per 100k	0.23	0.2	-13.04%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Pistole

The ethnic identity associated with the surname "Pistole" also changed over the same period, based on information from the Decennial U.S. Census. In 2000, almost all individuals (96.75%) identified as White, but this figure decreased slightly to 94.97% by 2010. There was no representation within the Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, or American Indian and Alaskan Native groups in 2000, yet by 2010 there was a small increase in the Asian/Pacific Islander category to 1.04%. Meanwhile, those identifying with two or more races increased by 50.62%, from 0.81% to 1.22%. The Hispanic group saw the most significant rise, jumping by 82.46% from 1.14% in 2000 to 2.08% in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
White	96.75%	94.97%	-1.84%
Hispanic	1.14%	2.08%	82.46%
Two or More Races	0.81%	1.22%	50.62%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	1.04%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%