Find out how popular the last name Pelc is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Pelc.

Pelc, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Pelc surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pelc in America

Pelc is the 24822nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pelc surname appeared 1,003 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Pelc.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pelc to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Pelc

The surname PELC is of Polish origin, dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Polish word "pelc," which means "thumb" or "little finger." The name was likely used as a nickname or descriptive name for someone with a particularly distinctive thumb or little finger.

In its earliest recorded instances, the name appeared in various medieval documents and records from the areas of Krakow and Lesser Poland. One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Liber Beneficiorum, a 14th-century manuscript that documented ecclesiastical benefices and appointments in the Diocese of Krakow.

The PELC surname has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Jan Pelc, a wealthy merchant and landowner from the town of Kazimierz near Krakow, who lived in the late 15th century.

Another prominent figure with the PELC surname was Piotr Pelc (1563-1631), a Polish mathematician, astronomer, and professor at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. He made significant contributions to the development of mathematics and astronomy in Renaissance-era Poland.

In the 18th century, Michał Pelc (1720-1795) was a renowned Polish painter and engraver who specialized in religious subjects and portraits. His works can be found in many churches and museums throughout Poland.

During the 19th century, Ludwik Pelc (1838-1891) was a Polish writer and journalist who was active in the Polish independence movement. He wrote several novels and plays that explored themes of national identity and the struggle for freedom.

More recently, Jerzy Pelc (1924-2003) was a distinguished Polish semiotician, logician, and philosopher. He made significant contributions to the study of semiotics and the philosophy of language, and served as a professor at the University of Warsaw for many years.

The PELC surname has also been associated with several notable place names throughout Poland, such as the village of Pelcowa near Rzeszow and the Pelc Valley in the Tatra Mountains.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pelc

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Pelc.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Pelc was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Pelc has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Pelc was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Pelc, please contact us.

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