2000
#21,025
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,165
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.43
Rare Last name
Margulies
A surname of Jewish origin, meaning "pearl" in Hebrew.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,431 Americans carry the last name Margulies. That puts it at #21,354 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.42 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 239,521 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Margulies 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
1.4K
1 in 239,521
Census rank
#21,354
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,248 bearers of the surname Margulies in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.42 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 21354th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Margulies, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Margulies
The surname Margulies is of Ashkenazic Jewish origin and can be traced back to the 16th century in areas of modern-day Germany and Poland. It is derived from the Hebrew personal name "Margalit," meaning "pearl." The name likely originated as a descriptive nickname for someone considered precious or valuable.
Records show the earliest known bearer of the name was Isaac Margulies, born around 1550 in the town of Kraków, Poland. Another early reference is found in the 1602 census records of Frankfurt am Main, Germany, where a Moses Margulies is listed as a resident.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the name spread throughout Central and Eastern Europe, with many Margulies families living in cities like Prague, Vienna, and Berlin. One notable bearer was Rabbi Meir Margulies (1657-1732), a renowned Talmudic scholar and author from Kraków.
In the 19th century, as Jewish communities became more mobile, the Margulies name began appearing in other parts of Europe and beyond. Some examples include Samuel Margulies (1765-1842), a Polish-born merchant who settled in Amsterdam, and Isaac Margulies (1810-1888), a writer and teacher from Galicia (now part of Ukraine).
As the 20th century dawned, the Margulies surname had become well-established in various countries. Notable bearers include Raphael Margulies (1887-1962), an Austrian-born Zionist leader and writer, and Donald Margulies (born 1954), an American playwright and screenwriter known for works like "Dinner with Friends" and "The Country House."
Other famous individuals with the Margulies surname include Judd Margulies (born 1956), an American actor best known for his role in the TV series "The Sopranos," and Zvi Margulies (1924-1996), an Israeli artist and sculptor who created public artworks throughout Israel and the United States.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Margulies
Among Census respondents with the surname Margulies, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Margulies 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 Margulies surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.2% · 1,163
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 46
- Two or more races1.8% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 10
- Black or African American0.6% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Margulies
Margulies 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
#21,972
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,181
+16 bearers (+1.4%)
Per 100,000 0.40
Rank movement Down 947 places
2020
#21,354
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,248
+67 bearers (+5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.42
Rank movement Up 618 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #21,025 | 1,165 | 0.43 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #21,972 | 1,181 | 0.40 | +16 bearers (+1.4%) | Down 947 places |
| 2020 | #21,354 | 1,248 | 0.42 | +67 bearers (+5.7%) | Up 618 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 Margulies 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 | #21,972 | #21,354 | 2.8% |
| Count | 1,181 | 1,248 | 5.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.40 | 0.42 | 4.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Margulies bearers went from 1,181 to 1,248 (+5.7% change). The surname moved up 618 positions in the national ranking, going from #21,972 to #21,354.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Margulies
FAQ
Margulies surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Margulies?
Name Census estimates that about 1,431 living Americans carry the surname Margulies. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 239,521 residents.
How common is Margulies?
Margulies ranks #21,354 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.42 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 1,248 people with the surname Margulies. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,431), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.42 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.42 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 Margulies.
Has Margulies become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Margulies went from 1,181 recorded bearers to 1,248. That is an increase of 67 (+5.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #21,972 to #21,354.
What does the Census say about the background of Margulies?
Among Census respondents with the surname Margulies, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Margulies in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (1,163 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Margulies appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.2%), Hispanic (3.7%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Margulies (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 Margulies mean?
A surname of Jewish origin, meaning "pearl" in Hebrew. 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 Margulies (0.42 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 people have the last name Margulies?
See how many Americans have the surname Margulies on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.