2000
#130,443
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Palaschak
An East European surname of occupational origin referring to a person who made wooden poles or staffs.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 116 Americans carry the last name Palaschak. That puts it at #155,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,954,779 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Palaschak 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
116
1 in 2,954,779
Census rank
#155,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
101
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 101 bearers of the surname Palaschak in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Palaschak, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.0%) and Two or More Races (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Palaschak
The surname Palaschak is of Eastern European origin, likely originating in the region of modern-day Ukraine or Poland. It is believed to have derived from the Slavic word "palach," meaning "executioner" or "hangman." This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with an occupation or position held by an ancestor.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Palaschak can be traced back to the 16th century in the region of Galicia, which was then part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Historical records from this period indicate that a family by the name of Palaschak resided in the town of Lviv (known as Lemberg at the time).
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Palaschak name appeared in various church and municipal records across Eastern Europe. In 1687, a man named Ivan Palaschak was mentioned in a birth registry in the village of Kolomyia, located in modern-day Ukraine. Another record from 1734 references a Petro Palaschak, who served as a village elder in the town of Ternopil.
In the 19th century, the Palaschak surname began to spread beyond its Eastern European roots. One notable individual was Aleksander Palaschak (1825-1892), a Polish-born writer and journalist who settled in Paris and contributed to several French literary publications.
Another prominent figure with the Palaschak name was Mariya Palaschak (1876-1958), a Ukrainian opera singer and vocal teacher. She performed with the Lviv Opera House and later taught at the Lviv Conservatory of Music.
In the early 20th century, a man named Stepan Palaschak (1892-1972) emigrated from Galicia to Canada, where he worked as a farmer in the province of Manitoba. His descendants continued to use the Palaschak surname, contributing to its spread throughout North America.
Other notable individuals with the Palaschak surname include Bohdan Palaschak (1912-1998), a Ukrainian-Canadian artist known for his landscape paintings, and Olena Palaschak (born 1978), a contemporary Ukrainian writer and poet.
While the Palaschak name has its roots in Eastern Europe, over the centuries it has become more widely dispersed due to migration and cultural exchange. The name's origins can be traced back to an occupation or position held by an ancestor, reflecting the rich history and cultural influences that have shaped this distinctive surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Palaschak
Among Census respondents with the surname Palaschak, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.0%) and Two or More Races (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Palaschak 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 Palaschak surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.0% · 99
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 1
- Two or more races1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Palaschak
Palaschak 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
#143,149
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
-4 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,706 places
2020
#155,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
-15 bearers (-12.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 12,121 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #130,443 | 120 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #143,149 | 116 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.3%) | Down 12,706 places |
| 2020 | #155,270 | 101 | 0.03 | -15 bearers (-12.9%) | Down 12,121 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 Palaschak 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 | #143,149 | #155,270 | -8.5% |
| Count | 116 | 101 | -12.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -15.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Palaschak bearers went from 116 to 101 (-12.9% change). The surname moved down 12,121 positions in the national ranking, going from #143,149 to #155,270.
FAQ
Palaschak surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Palaschak?
Name Census estimates that about 116 living Americans carry the surname Palaschak. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,954,779 residents.
How common is Palaschak?
Palaschak ranks #155,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 101 people with the surname Palaschak. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (116), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Palaschak.
Has Palaschak become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Palaschak went from 116 recorded bearers to 101. That is a decrease of 15 (-12.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #143,149 to #155,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Palaschak?
Among Census respondents with the surname Palaschak, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.0%) and Two or More Races (1.0%). 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 Palaschak in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.0% (99 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Palaschak appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.0%), Hispanic (1.0%), Two or More Races (1.0%). 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 Palaschak (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 Palaschak mean?
An East European surname of occupational origin referring to a person who made wooden poles or staffs. 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 Palaschak (0.03 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 share the surname Palaschak?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.