Parulis last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Parulis

A Greek surname referring to someone living beside a small waterway or stream.

Parulis, 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 Parulis surname is from the 2000 census data.

Popularity of Parulis in America

Parulis is the 139757th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Parulis surname appeared 110 times in the 2000 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Parulis.

The history of the last name Parulis

The surname Parulis has its origins in Eastern Europe, particularly within the regions that are now Lithuania and parts of Poland. The name dates back to the medieval period, where it was first found in records from the 14th century. In Lithuania, it is believed to have derived from the Lithuanian word "parulė", which denotes a small meadow. In this primarily agrarian society, surnames were commonly derived from natural features or occupations related to agriculture.

Historical references to the name Parulis appear sporadically in old manuscripts and local records from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. One of the earliest known instances can be traced back to a Lithuanian land registry from 1385, where a landholder named Juris Parulis is mentioned. This document outlines his ownership of parcels of farmland adjacent to the Nemunas River, highlighting the agrarian roots of the name.

Another significant entry of the name is found in a Polish tax registry from 1569 in the Podlasie region, which was then part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Here, a farmer named Jan Parulis is listed as a tenant of noble landowners, indicating that the surname had spread into neighboring Polish territories and was being used by commoners who were involved in agricultural labor.

In the early 17th century, a notable figure with this surname appears in the chronicles of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Aleksandras Parulis, born in 1598 and died in 1670, was a scholar and an early educator at the University of Vilnius. His contributions to the administration of the university, particularly in the field of philosophy, were well recognized during his time.

Moving into the 18th century, the surname saw a familial presence in the military records of the Lithuanian-Belarusian regional forces. A certain Captain Andrius Parulis, born in 1765 and died in 1822, served with distinction in the insurgent forces during the Kościuszko Uprising against foreign partitions of Poland-Lithuania.

In the 19th century, during a wave of emigration to the Americas, a Lithuanian family bearing the Parulis surname settled in Pennsylvania. One of the family members, Tomas Parulis, born in 1823 and died in 1899, became a prominent community leader among Lithuanian immigrants, actively involved in establishing cultural and religious institutions to assist newly arrived immigrants.

In the 20th century, Marek Parulis, born in 1912 and died in 1988, was a noted figure in the Lithuanian independence movement. His advocacy and underground activities contributed to the preservation and promotion of Lithuanian culture during the Soviet occupation, and he is remembered as a significant national figure in post-war Lithuania.

The surname Parulis, rooted in the geographical and historical landscape of Lithuania and neighboring Poland, reflects a connection to the land and a continuity of cultural heritage through various prominent individuals across centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Parulis

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

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 2000 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Parulis was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 97.27% 107
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.00% 0
Hispanic Origin (S)% (S)

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.

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

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

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"Parulis last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on May 20, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/parulis-surname-popularity/.

"Parulis last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/parulis-surname-popularity/. Accessed 20 May, 2025

Parulis last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/parulis-surname-popularity/.

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