2000
#15,640
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,716
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.64
Rare Last name
Patlan
A toponymic surname of Nahuatl origin, possibly referring to a place abundant with reeds or cattails.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,577 Americans carry the last name Patlan. That puts it at #13,050 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 133,005 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Patlan 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
2.6K
1 in 133,005
Census rank
#13,050
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,247 bearers of the surname Patlan in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13050th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Patlan, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.3%. The next largest groups are White (5.3%) and Two or More Races (0.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Patlan
The surname PATLAN has its origins in the Indian subcontinent, particularly in the region now known as Punjab, which straddles the modern-day border between India and Pakistan. The name can be traced back to the 16th century, and it is believed to be derived from the Sanskrit word "pātāla," meaning "nether regions" or "underworld."
During the Mughal era, which spanned from the 16th to the 19th century, records show several individuals bearing the name PATLAN in various administrative and military roles. One notable mention is found in the Ain-i-Akbari, a 16th-century document commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Akbar, which lists a certain Malik Patlan as a revenue collector in the Sirhind district.
The earliest recorded instance of the name PATLAN appears to be in a land grant issued by the Lodi dynasty in the late 15th century, where a village named Patlana is mentioned. This village may have been the ancestral home of individuals who later adopted the surname PATLAN.
As the Mughal Empire expanded and consolidated its control over the Indian subcontinent, the name PATLAN spread to other regions as well. In the 17th century, a prominent military commander named Mirza Patlan Khan served under the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and played a crucial role in the conquest of the Deccan plateau.
Another notable figure bearing the surname PATLAN was Rai Patlan Singh, a 17th-century Rajput chieftain who ruled over a small principality in the present-day state of Rajasthan. His descendants continued to use the PATLAN surname for several generations.
In the 18th century, a Persian scholar and poet named Mirza Mohammad Patlan gained fame for his literary works, which included translations of ancient Sanskrit texts into Persian. His contributions helped bridge the cultural gap between the Mughal court and the local Hindu population.
As the centuries passed, the PATLAN surname spread beyond the Indian subcontinent, carried by individuals who migrated to other parts of the world. However, its roots can be firmly traced back to the rich cultural and historical tapestry of the region that gave birth to this distinctive name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Patlan
Among Census respondents with the surname Patlan, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.3%. The next largest groups are White (5.3%) and Two or More Races (0.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Patlan 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 Patlan surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.3% · 2,097
- White5.3% · 118
- Two or more races0.6% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 8
- Black or African American0.3% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Patlan
Patlan 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
#12,971
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,367
+651 bearers (+37.9%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Up 2,669 places
2020
#13,050
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,247
-120 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Down 79 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,640 | 1,716 | 0.64 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,971 | 2,367 | 0.80 | +651 bearers (+37.9%) | Up 2,669 places |
| 2020 | #13,050 | 2,247 | 0.75 | -120 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 79 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 Patlan 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 | #12,971 | #13,050 | -0.6% |
| Count | 2,367 | 2,247 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.80 | 0.75 | -6.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Patlan bearers went from 2,367 to 2,247 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 79 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,971 to #13,050.
FAQ
Patlan surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Patlan?
Name Census estimates that about 2,577 living Americans carry the surname Patlan. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 133,005 residents.
How common is Patlan?
Patlan ranks #13,050 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.75 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 2,247 people with the surname Patlan. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,577), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.75 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 Patlan.
Has Patlan become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Patlan went from 2,367 recorded bearers to 2,247. That is a decrease of 120 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,971 to #13,050.
What does the Census say about the background of Patlan?
Among Census respondents with the surname Patlan, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.3%. The next largest groups are White (5.3%) and Two or More Races (0.6%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Patlan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (2,097 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Patlan appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (93.3%), White (5.3%), Two or More Races (0.6%). 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 Patlan (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 Patlan mean?
A toponymic surname of Nahuatl origin, possibly referring to a place abundant with reeds or cattails. 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 Patlan (0.75 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 share the surname Patlan?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.