2010
#153,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Patsis
A Greek surname likely derived from the personal name Patrick.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 114 Americans carry the last name Patsis. That puts it at #156,005 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,006,617 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Patsis 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
114
1 in 3,006,617
Census rank
#156,005
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
99
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 99 bearers of the surname Patsis in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156005th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Patsis, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.1%) and Black (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Patsis
The surname PATSIS is of Greek origin, derived from the Greek word "patsi" meaning "a small coin". It likely originated in the early medieval period in Greece, possibly around the 10th or 11th century CE.
The name was initially adopted as a descriptive surname, referring to someone who dealt in small coins or perhaps a moneylender. It may have been particularly prevalent in areas with a strong trading or merchant culture, such as the Greek islands or coastal regions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in a 14th-century document from the island of Crete, where a merchant named Georgios Patsis is mentioned. This suggests that the name had already been in use for several centuries by that point.
In the 16th century, a notable figure named Theodoros Patsis was a prominent scholar and philosopher in the city of Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul). He was known for his works on ancient Greek philosophy and his contributions to the intellectual Renaissance of the time.
During the 17th century, a successful merchant family with the surname Patsis established themselves in the city of Thessaloniki. They were involved in the lucrative trade of silk and spices between the Ottoman Empire and Western Europe.
In the 19th century, a Greek revolutionary named Dimitrios Patsis (1790-1867) played a significant role in the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire. He was a military leader and strategist, renowned for his daring attacks and tactical brilliance.
Another notable bearer of the name was Ioannis Patsis (1873-1947), a Greek painter and sculptor who was part of the influential Munich School of artists. His works often depicted scenes from Greek mythology and folklore, capturing the essence of Greek culture and traditions.
As the name PATSIS spread throughout Greece and the Greek diaspora, variations in spelling and pronunciation began to emerge, such as Patsis, Patses, and Patsios. However, the core meaning and origin remained rooted in the original Greek word "patsi".
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Patsis
Among Census respondents with the surname Patsis, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.1%) and Black (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Patsis 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 Patsis surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.9% · 89
- Hispanic or Latino8.1% · 8
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Patsis
Patsis 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
#156,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 99
-7 bearers (-6.6%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 2,236 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #156,005 | 99 | 0.03 | -7 bearers (-6.6%) | Down 2,236 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 Patsis 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 | #153,769 | #156,005 | -1.5% |
| Count | 106 | 99 | -6.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -17.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Patsis bearers went from 106 to 99 (-6.6% change). The surname moved down 2,236 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #156,005.
FAQ
Patsis surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Patsis?
Name Census estimates that about 114 living Americans carry the surname Patsis. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,006,617 residents.
How common is Patsis?
Patsis ranks #156,005 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 99 people with the surname Patsis. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (114), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Patsis.
Has Patsis become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Patsis went from 106 recorded bearers to 99. That is a decrease of 7 (-6.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #153,769 to #156,005.
What does the Census say about the background of Patsis?
Among Census respondents with the surname Patsis, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.1%) and Black (1.0%). 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 Patsis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.9% (89 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Patsis appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.9%), Hispanic (8.1%), Black (1.0%). 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 Patsis (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 Patsis mean?
A Greek surname likely derived from the personal name Patrick. 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 Patsis (0.03 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 have the surname Patsis?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.