[2] It was created on February 9, 1836, from lands ceded to the United States under the Chickasaw Cession.

Pontotoc is a Chickasaw word meaning "land of hanging grapes".

Pontotoc County is part of the Tupelo, MS Micropolitan Statistical Area.

[3] As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 31,184 people, 10,783 households, and 7,943 families residing in the county.

According to the census[11] of 2000, the largest ancestry groups in Pontotoc County were English 61.92%, Scots-Irish 15.1%, African 13.98% and Scottish 3% There were 10,097 households, out of which 37.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.20% were married couples living together, 11.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.10% were non-families.