2000
#137,816
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Paluga
From Polish roots meaning "someone who burned wood to make charcoal or potash".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Paluga. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Paluga 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
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Paluga in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Paluga, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.4%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Paluga
The surname Paluga is of Polish origin, first appearing in records from the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the old Polish word "paluga," meaning a type of rod or staff used for threshing grain. This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who worked as a thresher or in agriculture.
The earliest known record of the Paluga name can be found in the Akta Metrykalne, a collection of Polish parish records from the 16th to 18th centuries. An entry from 1567 mentions a Jan Paluga residing in the village of Bydgoszcz.
In the 17th century, the Paluga name appeared in the Polish military records of the Krakow region, indicating that members of the family served in the armed forces during that time. One notable individual was Stanislaw Paluga, a cavalry officer who fought in the Polish-Swedish War (1626-1629).
During the 18th century, the Paluga surname began to spread beyond its original region, with records showing families living in various parts of Poland, including the cities of Warsaw and Lublin. A prominent figure from this era was Marcin Paluga (1712-1789), a successful merchant and landowner from the town of Radom.
The 19th century saw the Paluga name emerge in other parts of Eastern Europe, likely as a result of migration and population movements. Records from this period include a Mikhail Paluga (1825-1892), a Russian soldier who served in the Crimean War, and a Janos Paluga (1847-1911), a Hungarian artist known for his landscape paintings.
Another notable individual with the Paluga surname was Kazimierz Paluga (1859-1925), a Polish writer and journalist who played an active role in the country's struggle for independence from Russia. He was a prolific author and editor of several newspapers, including the influential "Gazeta Warszawska."
Throughout its history, the Paluga surname has maintained a strong presence in Poland and neighboring regions, reflecting its deep roots in Eastern European culture and tradition.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Paluga
Among Census respondents with the surname Paluga, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.4%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Paluga 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 Paluga surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.4% · 92
- Hispanic or Latino6.4% · 7
- Two or more races4.6% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 3
- Black or African American1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Paluga
Paluga 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
#152,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
-5 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 14,812 places
2020
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
+2 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,423 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #137,816 | 112 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #152,628 | 107 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 14,812 places |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | +2 bearers (+1.9%) | Up 2,423 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 Paluga 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 | #152,628 | #150,205 | 1.6% |
| Count | 107 | 109 | 1.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Paluga bearers went from 107 to 109 (+1.9% change). The surname moved up 2,423 positions in the national ranking, going from #152,628 to #150,205.
FAQ
Paluga surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Paluga?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Paluga. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Paluga?
Paluga ranks #150,205 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 109 people with the surname Paluga. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Paluga.
Has Paluga become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Paluga went from 107 recorded bearers to 109. That is an increase of 2 (+1.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #152,628 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Paluga?
Among Census respondents with the surname Paluga, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.4%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Paluga in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.4% (92 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Paluga appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.4%), Hispanic (6.4%), Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Paluga (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 Paluga mean?
From Polish roots meaning "someone who burned wood to make charcoal or potash". 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 Paluga (0.04 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 surname Paluga?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.