Find out how popular the last name Filar is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Filar.

Filar, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Filar surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Filar in America

Filar is the 71886th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Filar surname appeared 271 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Filar.

We can also compare 2010 data for Filar to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Filar

The surname Filar is of Polish origin, derived from the word "filar" meaning "pillar" or "column." It is believed to have originated in the 12th or 13th century, possibly as a descriptive name for someone who lived near a prominent pillar or column, or as an occupational name for a builder of pillars or columns.

The earliest recorded use of the surname Filar can be found in medieval Polish records, such as the Liber Beneficiorum, a registry of ecclesiastical benefices compiled in the late 15th century. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Jan Filar, a merchant and landowner from the town of Krakow, who lived in the early 16th century.

In the 17th century, the Filar surname appears in several Polish noble families, including the Filarowie of Brzezie coat of arms. One notable member of this family was Andrzej Filar (1621-1677), a Polish nobleman and military officer who fought in the Swedish Deluge, a series of wars between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden.

Another prominent individual with the Filar surname was Jan Filar (1785-1856), a Polish mathematician, astronomer, and university professor. He made significant contributions to the fields of celestial mechanics and geodesy, and was a member of the prestigious Polish Academy of Sciences.

In the 19th century, the Filar surname was also found among Polish immigrants who settled in other parts of Europe and the United States. One such individual was Franciszek Filar (1828-1911), a Polish-American businessman and philanthropist who established the Filar Institute, a school for Polish immigrants in Detroit, Michigan.

Other notable individuals with the surname Filar include Ludwik Filar (1858-1938), a Polish chemist and inventor known for his work on the production of synthetic rubber, and Jerzy Filar (1916-2005), a Polish-American mathematician and computer scientist who made significant contributions to the field of operations research.

While the surname Filar has its roots in Poland, it has since spread to other countries through migration and intermarriage. However, it remains most commonly associated with its Polish heritage and the historical significance of its meaning related to pillars and columns.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Filar

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Filar.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Filar was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Filar has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Filar was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Filar, please contact us.

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