2000
#11,851
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,420
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.90
Rare Last name
Pasternak
A Polish and Ukrainian occupational surname referring to a parsnip grower or seller.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,705 Americans carry the last name Pasternak. That puts it at #12,540 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.79 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 126,711 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pasternak 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Pasternak with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.7K
1 in 126,711
Census rank
#12,540
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,359 bearers of the surname Pasternak in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.79 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12540th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pasternak, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pasternak
The surname Pasternak originated in Poland, derived from the Polish word "pasternak" meaning "parsnip." It was likely an occupational name initially given to someone who grew or sold parsnips. The name can be traced back to the 14th century in areas around Krakow and other parts of southern Poland.
Variations of the spelling include Pasternak, Pasternack, and Pasternik. In old records, it sometimes appeared as Pastyrnak or Pasturniak, reflecting the Cyrillic spellings used in eastern regions of Poland. The earliest recorded example is a reference to a Mikołaj Pasternak from the town of Bochnia in 1398.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name spread across Poland as families moved between villages and towns. It appeared in tax registers and land records in areas like Poznan, Lublin, and Lviv (which was part of Poland at the time). Pasternak families were also found in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, with mentions in documents from Vilnius and Grodno.
One of the earliest notable people with the surname was Jan Pasternak, a Polish writer and philosopher born in 1629 in Krakow. He published works on ethics and morality that were influential in his time. In the 19th century, Józef Pasternak (1826-1891) was a respected painter and art professor in Krakow.
The most famous bearer of the name was likely Boris Pasternak (1890-1960), the Russian poet and author best known for his novel "Doctor Zhivago." Though born in Moscow, his family had Polish roots and the surname originated from the Polish side.
Other historical figures include Leonid Pasternak (1835-1912), a Russian artist and illustrator, and Leon Pasternak (1901-1976), a Polish-American attorney who served as a judge in Chicago.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pasternak
Among Census respondents with the surname Pasternak, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Pasternak 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 Pasternak surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.0% · 2,194
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 84
- Two or more races2.0% · 47
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 23
- Black or African American0.4% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pasternak
Pasternak 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
#13,142
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,329
-91 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Down 1,291 places
2020
#12,540
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,359
+30 bearers (+1.3%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Up 602 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,851 | 2,420 | 0.90 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,142 | 2,329 | 0.79 | -91 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 1,291 places |
| 2020 | #12,540 | 2,359 | 0.79 | +30 bearers (+1.3%) | Up 602 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 Pasternak 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 | #13,142 | #12,540 | 4.6% |
| Count | 2,329 | 2,359 | 1.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.79 | 0.79 | -0.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pasternak bearers went from 2,329 to 2,359 (+1.3% change). The surname moved up 602 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,142 to #12,540.
FAQ
Pasternak surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pasternak?
Name Census estimates that about 2,705 living Americans carry the surname Pasternak. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 126,711 residents.
How common is Pasternak?
Pasternak ranks #12,540 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.79 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,359 people with the surname Pasternak. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,705), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.79 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.79 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Pasternak.
Has Pasternak become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pasternak went from 2,329 recorded bearers to 2,359. That is an increase of 30 (+1.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,142 to #12,540.
What does the Census say about the background of Pasternak?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pasternak, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Pasternak in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (2,194 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pasternak appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.0%), Hispanic (3.6%), Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Pasternak (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 Pasternak mean?
A Polish and Ukrainian occupational surname referring to a parsnip grower or seller. 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 Pasternak (0.79 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 Pasternak?
For a quick modern take, check how many people are called Pasternak on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.