Pickens is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Andrew Pickens (congressman) (1739–1817), American soldier and politician; US Representative from South Carolina Andrew Pickens (governor) (1779–1838), American soldier, lawyer, planter, and politician; governor of South Carolina; son of Andrew Pickens (congressman) Bruce Pickens (born 1968), American football player Buster Pickens (1916–1964), American blues pianist Carl Pickens (born 1970), American football player Champ Pickens (1877–1963), American football expert Claude Pickens (1900–1985), American missionary and photographer in China Douschka Pickens (1859–1893), leader of the Red Shirts in Edgefield County, South Carolina Ezekiel Pickens (1768–1813), American politician; lieutenant governor of South Carolina Francis Wilkinson Pickens (1805–1869), American politician; governor of South Carolina George Pickens (born 2001), American football player Israel Pickens (1780–1827) American politician; governor of Alabama James Pickens, Jr. (born 1954), American actor Jon Pickens (born 1954) American game designer and editor Karlyn Pickens (born 2004), American softball player Lucy Pickens (1832–1899), American socialite and First Lady of South Carolina Mary Pickens, American politician Slim Pickens (1919–1983), American actor and cowboy T. Boone Pickens, Jr. (1928–2019), American businessman and philanthropist J. P. Pickens (1937–1973), American musician, poet, and artist Vinton Liddell Pickens (1900–1993), American artist and activist William Pickens (1881–1954), African-American orator, educator, journalist, and essayist Willie Pickens (1931–2017), American musician Zacch Pickens (born 2000), American football player