Pinckney is a village in Putnam Township, Livingston County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,415 at the 2020 census. Among the first American pioneers in the area around Pinckney were William Kirkland and his family, who moved from New York in the late 1820s. Kirkland named the community after his brother, Charles Pinckney Ki…Pinckney is a village in Putnam Township, Livingston County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,415 at the 2020 census. Among the first American pioneers in the area around Pinckney were William Kirkland and his family, who moved from New York in the late 1820s. Kirkland named the community after his brother, Charles Pinckney Kirkland. Platted in 1837, Pinckney was incorporated as a village in 1883.