2000
#47,939
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 415
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.15
Very Rare Last name
Folta
A locational surname indicating a person who hailed from an area abundant with marshes or wetlands.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 539 Americans carry the last name Folta. That puts it at #48,549 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.16 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 635,908 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Folta surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
539
1 in 635,908
Census rank
#48,549
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
470
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 470 bearers of the surname Folta in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.16 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 48549th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Folta, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Folta
The surname Folta has its origins in Poland, where it first emerged in the medieval period. It is believed to derive from the Polish word "folta," which means "folds" or "pleats," potentially referring to a person's occupation as a tailor or seamstress.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Folta name can be found in the 15th-century Tarnów Land Records, where a certain Jan Folta was mentioned as a resident of the town of Pilzno in the year 1457. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by that time.
In the 16th century, the Folta surname appears in various historical documents, such as the 1564 Tax Register of the Kraków Voivodeship, where a certain Mikołaj Folta is listed as a landowner in the village of Masłomiąca.
Over the centuries, the Folta name has been associated with several notable individuals. For instance, Jan Folta (1630-1702) was a Polish Catholic priest and theologian who served as the rector of the Kraków Academy (now Jagiellonian University) in the late 17th century.
Another prominent figure bearing the Folta surname was Franciszek Folta (1805-1876), a Polish writer and poet who was a member of the Polish Literary Society in Paris during the 19th century.
In the 20th century, one of the most well-known individuals with the Folta name was Jadwiga Folta (1904-1994), a Polish actress and singer who appeared in numerous films and theater productions throughout her career.
It's worth noting that the Folta surname has also been subject to various spelling variations over time, including Foltha, Foltha, and Folito, reflecting regional and linguistic differences.
While the Folta name has its roots in Poland, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through immigration and diaspora communities. However, its origins and historical significance remain deeply intertwined with the rich cultural heritage of Poland.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Folta
Among Census respondents with the surname Folta, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Folta bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Folta surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.8% · 436
- Two or more races3.6% · 17
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 3
- Black or African American0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Folta
Folta appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#48,717
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 433
+18 bearers (+4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.15
Rank movement Down 778 places
2020
#48,549
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 470
+37 bearers (+8.5%)
Per 100,000 0.16
Rank movement Up 168 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #47,939 | 415 | 0.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #48,717 | 433 | 0.15 | +18 bearers (+4.3%) | Down 778 places |
| 2020 | #48,549 | 470 | 0.16 | +37 bearers (+8.5%) | Up 168 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Folta surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #48,717 | #48,549 | 0.3% |
| Count | 433 | 470 | 8.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.15 | 0.16 | 4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Folta bearers went from 433 to 470 (+8.5% change). The surname moved up 168 positions in the national ranking, going from #48,717 to #48,549.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Folta
FAQ
Folta surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Folta?
Name Census estimates that about 539 living Americans carry the surname Folta. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 635,908 residents.
How common is Folta?
Folta ranks #48,549 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.16 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 470 people with the surname Folta. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (539), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.16 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.16 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Folta.
Has Folta become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Folta went from 433 recorded bearers to 470. That is an increase of 37 (+8.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #48,717 to #48,549.
What does the Census say about the background of Folta?
Among Census respondents with the surname Folta, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (2.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Folta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.8% (436 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Folta appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.8%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Hispanic (2.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Folta (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Folta mean?
A locational surname indicating a person who hailed from an area abundant with marshes or wetlands. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Folta (0.16 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Folta?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.