2000
#9,649
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,090
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.15
Rare Last name
Pollak
A surname of Slavic origin referring to someone from Poland or of Polish descent.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,148 Americans carry the last name Pollak. That puts it at #8,705 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.21 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 82,631 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pollak 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Pollak with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.1K
1 in 82,631
Census rank
#8,705
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,617 bearers of the surname Pollak in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.21 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8705th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pollak, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pollak
The surname Pollak originates from the Czech Republic and Poland, emerging in the Middle Ages around the 13th century. It is derived from the Polish word "polak," meaning "a person from Poland." This surname was likely given to individuals who moved from Poland to other regions, identifying their place of origin.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Pollak dates back to 1389, when a merchant named Jan Pollak was mentioned in a document from the city of Prague. Another early reference can be found in the Bременник, an old East Slavic chronicle from the 15th century, which mentions a nobleman named Fyodor Pollak.
In the 16th century, the name Pollak appeared in various records across Central and Eastern Europe. One notable bearer was Andrzej Pollak (1516-1572), a Polish diplomat and scholar who served as the ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.
During the 17th century, the surname Pollak spread to other parts of Europe. In 1624, a merchant named Jakob Pollak was recorded in the city of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Another notable figure was Johann Pollak (1633-1701), a German composer and organist from Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland).
The 18th century saw the emergence of several prominent individuals with the surname Pollak. Johann Michael Pollak (1732-1806) was a Czech philosopher and professor at the University of Prague. In the same century, Joachim Pollak (1759-1828) was a Polish-German physician and botanist who made significant contributions to the study of plant taxonomy.
Moving into the 19th century, one of the most notable bearers of the surname Pollak was Hermann Pollak (1838-1897), an Austrian architect who designed several prominent buildings in Vienna, including the Palais Ephrussi and the Burgtheater.
Throughout history, the surname Pollak has been spelled in various ways, such as Polak, Pollack, and Pollacek, reflecting regional variations and linguistic influences. While the name originated in Central and Eastern Europe, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pollak
Among Census respondents with the surname Pollak, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Pollak 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 Pollak surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.4% · 3,378
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 99
- Two or more races2.4% · 87
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 27
- Black or African American0.5% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pollak
Pollak 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
#8,453
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,908
+818 bearers (+26.5%)
Per 100,000 1.32
Rank movement Up 1,196 places
2020
#8,705
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,617
-291 bearers (-7.4%)
Per 100,000 1.21
Rank movement Down 252 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,649 | 3,090 | 1.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,453 | 3,908 | 1.32 | +818 bearers (+26.5%) | Up 1,196 places |
| 2020 | #8,705 | 3,617 | 1.21 | -291 bearers (-7.4%) | Down 252 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 Pollak 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 | #8,453 | #8,705 | -3.0% |
| Count | 3,908 | 3,617 | -7.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.32 | 1.21 | -8.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pollak bearers went from 3,908 to 3,617 (-7.4% change). The surname moved down 252 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,453 to #8,705.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Pollak
FAQ
Pollak surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pollak?
Name Census estimates that about 4,148 living Americans carry the surname Pollak. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 82,631 residents.
How common is Pollak?
Pollak ranks #8,705 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.21 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,617 people with the surname Pollak. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,148), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.21 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.21 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Pollak.
Has Pollak become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pollak went from 3,908 recorded bearers to 3,617. That is a decrease of 291 (-7.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,453 to #8,705.
What does the Census say about the background of Pollak?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pollak, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Pollak in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.4% (3,378 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pollak appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.4%), Hispanic (2.7%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Pollak (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 Pollak mean?
A surname of Slavic origin referring to someone from Poland or of Polish descent. 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 Pollak (1.21 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 Pollak?
Want to know how many people have the last name Pollak? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.