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

Pabst, 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 Pabst surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pabst in America

Pabst is the 13109th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pabst surname appeared 2,338 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Pabst.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pabst 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 Pabst

The surname Pabst originated in Germany, where it first emerged in the Middle Ages. It is derived from the German word "pabst," which means "pope" or "father." This suggests that the name may have been initially given to someone who worked for the church or had a close association with religious institutions.

The earliest recorded instances of the Pabst name can be traced back to the 13th century in various German regions. One notable example is a reference to a certain Henricus Pabst in a document from the city of Mainz, dated 1283.

In the 14th century, the surname appears in various forms, such as Pabest and Pabist, in records from cities like Cologne and Frankfurt. These variations likely emerged due to regional dialects and scribal errors in transcribing the name.

One of the earliest known individuals with the Pabst surname was Johann Pabst, a merchant and alderman in the city of Nuremberg, who lived from approximately 1420 to 1485.

The Pabst name gained further prominence in the 16th century, with the rise of the Pabst family of brewers in the German city of Ulm. The most notable figure from this lineage was Philipp Pabst (1492-1567), a successful brewer and businessman.

Another significant figure with the Pabst surname was the German theologian and reformer Christoph Pabst (1539-1592), who played a role in the Protestant Reformation and served as a minister in various cities, including Zwickau and Chemnitz.

In the 17th century, the Pabst name appears in records from various German states, such as Saxony and Bavaria. One notable individual from this period was the Baroque composer Johann Pabst (1630-1697), known for his sacred and instrumental works.

As the Pabst family spread across Europe, the surname also found its way to other regions, such as the Netherlands and Scandinavia, where it was sometimes adapted to local spellings and pronunciations.

Overall, the surname Pabst has a rich history rooted in German culture and language, with connections to the religious, commercial, and artistic spheres throughout its development.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pabst

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

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 Pabst 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 Pabst 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 Pabst was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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