2010
#137,327
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Pankov
A patronymic surname derived from the personal name "Panka", a diminutive form of the Russian name "Pankratiy".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Pankov. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pankov 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
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Pankov in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pankov, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pankov
The surname PANKOV originated in Russia during the 16th century. It is derived from the Russian word "panok", which means "gentleman" or "nobleman". The name likely originated among the lower nobility or gentry class in the Russian heartland around Moscow and surrounding areas.
The earliest known record of the PANKOV surname appears in a land registry document from the principality of Tver in 1587. This document lists a landowner named Ivan Pankov who owned a small estate near the town of Kashin. It's possible the name existed earlier, but written records from that era are scarce.
In the 17th century, the PANKOV surname started appearing in church records and census documents from various towns and villages across central Russia. One notable example is Fyodor Pankov (1632-1701), a merchant from Nizhny Novgorod who became quite wealthy trading furs and other goods along the Volga River.
During the 18th century, the PANKOV surname spread further across the Russian Empire as families migrated to newly settled territories. Yegor Pankov (1745-1812) was a Cossack officer who fought in the Russo-Turkish Wars and was awarded land in present-day Ukraine for his service.
In the 19th century, several PANKOVs made names for themselves in the arts and sciences. Aleksey Pankov (1817-1898) was a renowned landscape painter from Moscow whose works now hang in the Tretyakov Gallery. His cousin, Nikolai Pankov (1836-1903), was a professor of mathematics at Moscow State University.
The 20th century saw PANKOVs dispersed across the Soviet Union and later the former Soviet republics after its dissolution. Yelena Pankova (1901-1977) was a Soviet aerospace engineer who helped design some of the earliest spacecraft. Her grandson, Maksim Pankov (b. 1979), is a successful businessman and philanthropist based in Saint Petersburg.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pankov
Among Census respondents with the surname Pankov, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Pankov 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 Pankov surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.4% · 111
- Two or more races2.6% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pankov
Pankov appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-8 bearers (-6.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 9,168 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #137,327 | 122 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | -8 bearers (-6.6%) | Down 9,168 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 Pankov 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 | #137,327 | #146,495 | -6.7% |
| Count | 122 | 114 | -6.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pankov bearers went from 122 to 114 (-6.6% change). The surname moved down 9,168 positions in the national ranking, going from #137,327 to #146,495.
FAQ
Pankov surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pankov?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Pankov. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Pankov?
Pankov ranks #146,495 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 114 people with the surname Pankov. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), 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 Pankov.
Has Pankov become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pankov went from 122 recorded bearers to 114. That is a decrease of 8 (-6.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #137,327 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Pankov?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pankov, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Pankov in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.4% (111 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pankov appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.4%), Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Pankov (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 Pankov mean?
A patronymic surname derived from the personal name "Panka", a diminutive form of the Russian name "Pankratiy". 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 Pankov (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 common is the surname Pankov?
You can see how many people have the surname Pankov on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.