2000
#138,741
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Poliakoff
A surname indicating an individual with origins in the Polish city of Połock.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Poliakoff. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Poliakoff 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
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Poliakoff in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Poliakoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Poliakoff
The surname Poliakoff originates from Russia and Poland, deriving from the Russian word "polyak," meaning a Polish person or someone from Poland. This surname likely emerged during the Middle Ages when Poland and Russia had frequent interactions and cultural exchanges.
Poliakoff is a patronymic surname, indicating that it was initially formed by adding the possessive suffix "-off" or "-ov" to the root name "Poliak." This naming convention was common in Slavic countries, denoting a person's place of origin or ancestry.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Poliakoff surname can be found in the Velvet Book, a 15th-century manuscript documenting noble families in Russia. The name appears in various spellings, including Polyakov, Polyakoff, and Poljakoff, reflecting the fluidity of surname spellings during that time.
In the 16th century, a branch of the Poliakoff family settled in the city of Novgorod, where they became prominent merchants and landowners. Historical records show that in 1587, Ivan Poliakoff was granted a charter by Tsar Feodor I, allowing him to establish trade routes between Novgorod and the Baltic regions.
Another notable figure bearing the Poliakoff surname was Grigory Poliakoff (1675-1742), a Russian diplomat and statesman who served as an ambassador to several European courts during the reign of Peter the Great. His diplomatic efforts played a crucial role in strengthening Russia's relationships with Western powers.
During the 19th century, the Poliakoff family gained prominence in the arts and sciences. Vasily Poliakoff (1810-1868) was a renowned Russian painter known for his landscape and genre scenes, while his brother, Nikolai Poliakoff (1818-1892), was a celebrated geologist and paleontologist who made significant contributions to the study of fossil fuels.
In the 20th century, the Poliakoff name gained international recognition through the work of renowned physicist Sir John Poliakoff (1914-2006). Born in London to Russian-Jewish parents, Sir John made groundbreaking discoveries in the field of nuclear physics and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986 for his work on neutron scattering.
Another prominent individual with the Poliakoff surname was the Russian-American writer and poet Vladimir Poliakoff (1897-1973). His literary works, which often explored themes of exile and cultural identity, were widely acclaimed and earned him numerous accolades, including the prestigious Pushkin Prize in 1967.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Poliakoff
Among Census respondents with the surname Poliakoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Poliakoff 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 Poliakoff surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.7% · 110
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.3% · 4
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Poliakoff
Poliakoff 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
#152,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
-4 bearers (-3.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,887 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
+13 bearers (+12.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 10,579 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #138,741 | 111 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #152,628 | 107 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.6%) | Down 13,887 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | +13 bearers (+12.1%) | Up 10,579 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 Poliakoff 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 | #152,628 | #142,049 | 6.9% |
| Count | 107 | 120 | 12.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Poliakoff bearers went from 107 to 120 (+12.1% change). The surname moved up 10,579 positions in the national ranking, going from #152,628 to #142,049.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Poliakoff
FAQ
Poliakoff surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Poliakoff?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Poliakoff. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Poliakoff?
Poliakoff ranks #142,049 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 120 people with the surname Poliakoff. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Poliakoff.
Has Poliakoff become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Poliakoff went from 107 recorded bearers to 120. That is an increase of 13 (+12.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #152,628 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Poliakoff?
Among Census respondents with the surname Poliakoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%). 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 Poliakoff in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Poliakoff appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.7%), Hispanic (4.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%). 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 Poliakoff (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 Poliakoff mean?
A surname indicating an individual with origins in the Polish city of Połock. 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 Poliakoff (0.04 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 are called Poliakoff?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Poliakoff, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.