2010
#142,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Pawul
An occupational surname derived from a Polish word meaning "maker of stockings or socks".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Pawul. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pawul 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Pawul in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pawul, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Black (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pawul
The surname PAWUL is believed to have originated in the region of Silesia, which is now part of southwestern Poland and northeastern Czechia. Its roots can be traced back to the late 12th century, when it was first recorded in the area around the city of Wrocław (formerly known as Breslau).
According to historical records, the name PAWUL is likely derived from the Old Polish word "pawół," which translates to "peacock." This suggests that the surname may have initially been used as a nickname or descriptive name for someone who had a particular affinity or resemblance to peacocks.
One of the earliest known references to the PAWUL surname can be found in a 13th-century manuscript from the Archdiocese of Wrocław, where a certain "Pawuł de Strzegom" (PAWUL of Strzegom) is mentioned as a landowner in the vicinity of the town of Strzegom.
In the 14th century, the name appears in various records from the Duchy of Silesia, which was then part of the Kingdom of Bohemia. For instance, a "Nikolaus PAWUL" is listed as a burgher (citizen) of the city of Głogów (Glogau) in 1362.
During the 15th and 16th centuries, several notable individuals bearing the PAWUL surname emerge in historical records. One such figure is Jan PAWUL (c. 1450-1520), a renowned scholar and theologian from Wrocław, who served as the rector of the University of Krakow.
Another prominent bearer of the PAWUL name was Kaspar PAWUL (1572-1641), a German-born military engineer and cartographer who worked for the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and is credited with designing fortifications in several cities, including Warsaw and Zamość.
In the 17th century, the PAWUL surname spread beyond Silesia and became more widely distributed across various regions of Poland. One notable example is Michał PAWUL (1619-1691), a Polish nobleman and landowner who served as a court marshal for King John III Sobieski.
Over the centuries, the PAWUL surname has also been associated with various place names and their older spellings, such as Pawłowice (Pawlowitz), Pawłów (Pawlow), and Pawłowice Wielkie (Groß Paulowitz), among others, reflecting the widespread presence of this surname across different localities in Poland and neighboring regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pawul
Among Census respondents with the surname Pawul, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Black (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Pawul 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 Pawul surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.8% · 103
- Black or African American2.7% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pawul
Pawul 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
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-6 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,557 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #142,108 | 117 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 6,557 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 Pawul 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 | #142,108 | #148,665 | -4.6% |
| Count | 117 | 111 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pawul bearers went from 117 to 111 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 6,557 positions in the national ranking, going from #142,108 to #148,665.
FAQ
Pawul surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pawul?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Pawul. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Pawul?
Pawul ranks #148,665 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 111 people with the surname Pawul. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Pawul.
Has Pawul become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pawul went from 117 recorded bearers to 111. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #142,108 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Pawul?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pawul, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Black (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Pawul in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.8% (103 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pawul appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.8%), Black (2.7%), Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Pawul (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 Pawul mean?
An occupational surname derived from a Polish word meaning "maker of stockings or socks". 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 Pawul (0.04 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 are called Pawul?
See how many people have the surname Pawul on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.