2010
#130,610
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 130
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Pehlic
A surname of uncertain origin, possibly derived from a Slavic root.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Pehlic. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pehlic 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Pehlic in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pehlic, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.5%. The next largest groups are Black (0.8%) and Hispanic (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pehlic
The surname PEHLIC originates from the Slavic regions of central and eastern Europe, specifically in areas that are now part of Croatia and Serbia. The name likely emerged in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century.
PEHLIC is believed to be derived from an old Slavic word "pehlić," which referred to a person who worked with bees or honey production. This occupation-based surname would have initially been given to individuals involved in apiculture or beekeeping.
Earliest records of the name PEHLIC can be found in historical documents from the Dubrovnik region of modern-day Croatia, dating back to the late 1400s. There are mentions of a Petar PEHLIC, a beekeeper who lived in the village of Žuljana near Dubrovnik in the late 15th century.
In the 16th century, the name PEHLIC appeared in several tax records and land registers in the Croatian regions of Dalmatia and Istria. One notable example is Matija PEHLIC, a landowner from the town of Rovinj in Istria, who was born around 1520.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the PEHLIC surname spread to other parts of the Balkans, including Serbia and Bosnia. In the 1620s, there are records of a Nikola PEHLIC, a merchant from Belgrade, who traded goods with merchants from Venice and other Italian cities.
In the late 19th century, a prominent figure with the PEHLIC surname was Miloš PEHLIC, a Serbian linguist and scholar born in 1854 in the town of Šabac. He made significant contributions to the study of Slavic languages and published several works on Serbian grammar and etymology.
Another notable individual was Ivana PEHLIC, a Croatian artist and painter born in 1892 in the town of Varaždin. Her works, which focused on landscapes and portraits, were widely exhibited throughout Croatia and other European countries in the early 20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pehlic
Among Census respondents with the surname Pehlic, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.5%. The next largest groups are Black (0.8%) and Hispanic (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Pehlic 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 Pehlic surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.5% · 116
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
- Hispanic or Latino0.8% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pehlic
Pehlic 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
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
-11 bearers (-8.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,178 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #130,610 | 130 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-8.5%) | Down 12,178 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 Pehlic 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 | #130,610 | #142,788 | -9.3% |
| Count | 130 | 119 | -8.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pehlic bearers went from 130 to 119 (-8.5% change). The surname moved down 12,178 positions in the national ranking, going from #130,610 to #142,788.
FAQ
Pehlic surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pehlic?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Pehlic. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Pehlic?
Pehlic ranks #142,788 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 119 people with the surname Pehlic. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), 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 Pehlic.
Has Pehlic become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pehlic went from 130 recorded bearers to 119. That is a decrease of 11 (-8.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #130,610 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Pehlic?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pehlic, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.5%. The next largest groups are Black (0.8%) and Hispanic (0.8%). 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 Pehlic in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.5% (116 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pehlic appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.5%), Black (0.8%), Hispanic (0.8%). 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 Pehlic (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 Pehlic mean?
A surname of uncertain origin, possibly derived from a Slavic root. 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 Pehlic (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 have the last name Pehlic?
See how many people are called Pehlic on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.