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

Papanikolaou, 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 Papanikolaou surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Papanikolaou in America

Papanikolaou is the 85357th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Papanikolaou surname appeared 219 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Papanikolaou.

We can also compare 2010 data for Papanikolaou 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 Papanikolaou

The surname Papanikolaou originates from Greece and traces its roots back to the Byzantine era, around the 9th to 15th centuries. It is derived from the Greek words "papas" meaning "priest" and "Nikolaos" which was a common given name referring to St. Nicholas. The name suggests that the original bearers were likely descendants of a priest named Nikolaos or held some association with the clergy.

In Greek nomenclature, surnames often evolved from patronymic naming conventions, where a person's surname was based on their father's given name. Papanikolaou would have initially been a descriptive name referring to "the son of the priest Nikolaos" or "the priest Nikolaos' family."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the archives of the Athonite monastery of Vatopedi, where a monk named Papanikolaou is mentioned in a document dated 1426. This suggests that the name was already in use among the monastic communities of Mount Athos during the late Byzantine period.

In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the name was Georgios Papanikolaou, a Greek scholar and theologian who served as the Patriarch of Alexandria from 1573 to 1587. He was known for his efforts in promoting education and preserving Greek culture during the Ottoman rule.

Another prominent individual was Ioannis Papanikolaou (1795-1867), a Greek merchant and benefactor from Chios Island. He made significant contributions to the Greek War of Independence and funded the establishment of several schools and educational institutions in his homeland.

During the 19th century, the surname gained further recognition with the birth of Georgios N. Papanikolaou (1883-1962), the pioneering Greek-American cytologist who developed the Pap smear test, a revolutionary method for detecting cervical cancer. His groundbreaking work has saved countless lives and earned him a place in medical history.

More recently, Dimitris Papanikolaou (1934-2008) was a renowned Greek film director and screenwriter, known for his critically acclaimed movies such as "攂ery" (1977) and "The Travelling Players" (1975), which explored themes of Greek identity and social issues.

While the name Papanikolaou has its roots in Greek orthodoxy and the Byzantine era, it has since become widely dispersed throughout the Greek diaspora, with notable bearers contributing to various fields, from academia and medicine to the arts and commerce.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Papanikolaou

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

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

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

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