2000
#97,384
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 173
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Palagyi
Likely a Hungarian surname derived from a place name, perhaps referring to someone from a town or settlement called Pálágyi.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 183 Americans carry the last name Palagyi. That puts it at #115,686 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,872,975 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Palagyi 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
183
1 in 1,872,975
Census rank
#115,686
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
160
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 160 bearers of the surname Palagyi in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 115686th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Palagyi, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Palagyi
The surname PALAGYI is of Hungarian origin and dates back to the late 18th century. It is derived from the Hungarian word "pallag," which means "barren land" or "fallow field." The surname likely originated from a region in Hungary where families lived on or cultivated land that was considered barren or fallow.
PALAGYI is a variant spelling of the more common Hungarian surname "Pallagi," which also has its roots in the word "pallag." It is believed that the spelling variation PALAGYI emerged as a result of regional dialect differences or errors in transcription.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname PALAGYI can be found in the church records of a small village in the Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county of northeastern Hungary, where a family with the surname is mentioned in the late 1700s. This region was known for its agricultural communities, lending credence to the theory that the name originated from a connection to barren or fallow land.
In the 19th century, a notable figure with the surname PALAGYI was Menyhért Palagyi (1859-1924), a Hungarian philosopher and professor of philosophy at the University of Budapest. He was widely recognized for his contributions to the field of ethics and his critical writings on the works of Immanuel Kant.
Another prominent individual with the surname PALAGYI was József Palagyi (1879-1956), a Hungarian painter and graphic artist known for his landscape and genre paintings. His works were exhibited in various galleries across Europe during the early 20th century.
In the field of literature, Lajos Palagyi (1872-1945) was a Hungarian writer and poet who published several collections of poetry and short stories. He was also a renowned translator and contributed to the translation of works by notable authors such as Fyodor Dostoevsky and Leo Tolstoy into Hungarian.
During World War II, a Hungarian soldier named István Palagyi (1920-1945) gained recognition for his bravery and heroic actions on the eastern front. He was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, one of the highest military decorations in Nazi Germany, for his valor in combat.
Another notable figure with the surname PALAGYI was Klára Palagyi (1911-1987), a Hungarian chess player who competed in several international tournaments during the mid-20th century. She was one of the strongest female chess players of her time and represented Hungary in numerous chess olympiads.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Palagyi
Among Census respondents with the surname Palagyi, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Palagyi 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 Palagyi surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.1% · 157
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Palagyi
Palagyi 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
#106,570
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 167
-6 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Down 9,186 places
2020
#115,686
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 160
-7 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 9,116 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #97,384 | 173 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #106,570 | 167 | 0.06 | -6 bearers (-3.5%) | Down 9,186 places |
| 2020 | #115,686 | 160 | 0.05 | -7 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 9,116 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 Palagyi 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 | #106,570 | #115,686 | -8.6% |
| Count | 167 | 160 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.06 | 0.05 | -10.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Palagyi bearers went from 167 to 160 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 9,116 positions in the national ranking, going from #106,570 to #115,686.
FAQ
Palagyi surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Palagyi?
Name Census estimates that about 183 living Americans carry the surname Palagyi. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,872,975 residents.
How common is Palagyi?
Palagyi ranks #115,686 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.05 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 160 people with the surname Palagyi. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (183), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.05 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 Palagyi.
Has Palagyi become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Palagyi went from 167 recorded bearers to 160. That is a decrease of 7 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #106,570 to #115,686.
What does the Census say about the background of Palagyi?
Among Census respondents with the surname Palagyi, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Palagyi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.1% (157 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Palagyi appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.1%), Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Palagyi (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 Palagyi mean?
Likely a Hungarian surname derived from a place name, perhaps referring to someone from a town or settlement called Pálágyi. 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 Palagyi (0.05 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 Palagyi?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Palagyi? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.