2010
#148,347
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Pekol
A Polish surname derived from a nickname meaning "fire-dweller" or "hellion."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 112 Americans carry the last name Pekol. That puts it at #156,269 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,060,307 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pekol 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
112
1 in 3,060,307
Census rank
#156,269
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
98
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 98 bearers of the surname Pekol in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156269th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pekol, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pekol
The surname PEKOL is believed to have originated in Poland, with its earliest recorded use dating back to the mid-16th century. It is thought to be derived from the Polish word "piekło," which means "hell" or "inferno." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a nickname or descriptive term, perhaps referring to someone with a fiery temperament or a person who worked in a hot or fiery environment, such as a blacksmith or baker.
In the 17th century, the name PEKOL appeared in various historical records and documents in the regions of Greater Poland and Masovia. One notable early reference was found in the parish records of the town of Kalisz, where a certain Andrzej PEKOL was mentioned in 1637. Another early record dates back to 1652, when a Jan PEKOL was listed as a landowner in the village of Strzegocin, near the city of Płock.
By the 18th century, the PEKOL surname had spread to other parts of Poland, including the regions of Silesia and Pomerania. In 1723, a merchant named Tomasz PEKOL was recorded as residing in the city of Wrocław (then known as Breslau). A few decades later, in 1768, a farmer named Michał PEKOL was mentioned in the records of the town of Gdańsk (Danzig).
One of the earliest known individuals with the PEKOL surname was Stanisław PEKOL, a Polish nobleman and military officer who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He served as a cavalry commander in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and is believed to have fought in the Polish-Swedish War of 1600-1629.
Another notable figure was Karol PEKOL (1824-1895), a Polish poet and writer who was born in the village of Brzeźno, near Gdańsk. He is best known for his collection of poems titled "Wiersze Wybrane" (Selected Poems), published in 1878.
In the 19th century, the PEKOL surname also appeared in various place names and toponyms across Poland. For example, there was a village named Pekolowo in the region of Kujawy, and a hamlet called Pekołek in the Lublin Voivodeship.
Other individuals of note who bore the PEKOL surname include Władysław PEKOL (1879-1942), a Polish engineer and inventor who patented several innovative designs for agricultural machinery, and Józef PEKOL (1903-1988), a renowned Polish botanist and professor at the University of Warsaw.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pekol
Among Census respondents with the surname Pekol, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Pekol 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 Pekol surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 98
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pekol
Pekol 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
#156,269
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 98
-13 bearers (-11.7%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 7,922 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #148,347 | 111 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #156,269 | 98 | 0.03 | -13 bearers (-11.7%) | Down 7,922 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 Pekol 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 | #148,347 | #156,269 | -5.3% |
| Count | 111 | 98 | -11.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -18.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pekol bearers went from 111 to 98 (-11.7% change). The surname moved down 7,922 positions in the national ranking, going from #148,347 to #156,269.
FAQ
Pekol surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pekol?
Name Census estimates that about 112 living Americans carry the surname Pekol. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,060,307 residents.
How common is Pekol?
Pekol ranks #156,269 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 98 people with the surname Pekol. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (112), 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 Pekol.
Has Pekol become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pekol went from 111 recorded bearers to 98. That is a decrease of 13 (-11.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #148,347 to #156,269.
What does the Census say about the background of Pekol?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pekol, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Pekol in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pekol appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Pekol (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 Pekol mean?
A Polish surname derived from a nickname meaning "fire-dweller" or "hellion." 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 Pekol (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 are called Pekol?
Want to know how common the surname Pekol is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.