2000
#132,259
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Pellis
An occupational surname derived from a word for "skinner" or fur trader.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Pellis. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pellis 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Pellis in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pellis, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Black (6.8%) and Hispanic (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pellis
The surname Pellis is of Italian origin and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is believed to have originated from the Italian word "pelle," which means skin or fur, possibly indicating that the early bearers of this name were involved in the leather or fur trade.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Pellis can be found in the Florentine tax records of 1292, where a certain Piero di Pellis was listed as a resident of the city. This suggests that the name was already established in the region of Tuscany during that time.
In the 14th century, the Pellis family was prominently mentioned in various documents from the city of Verona, located in the Veneto region of northern Italy. A notable member was Giovanni Pellis, a wealthy merchant and landowner who lived between 1320 and 1389.
During the Renaissance period, the name Pellis gained further recognition through the works of the humanist scholar and philosopher Petrus Pellis, who was born in Siena in 1448 and died in 1505. His writings on ethics and political theory were widely read and influenced the intellectual discourse of his time.
In the 17th century, a branch of the Pellis family settled in the Sicilian town of Noto, where they established themselves as prominent landowners and noblemen. One of the most famous members of this lineage was Don Vincenzo Pellis (1622-1698), who served as a military commander and played a significant role in the defense of the island during the War of the Spanish Succession.
Another notable figure bearing the surname Pellis was Antonio Pellis (1738-1810), a renowned architect from Venice who was responsible for designing several churches and palaces in the city, including the Church of San Moisè and the Palazzo Pellis, which still stands today as a testament to his architectural prowess.
In more recent times, the Pellis name has been associated with several notable individuals, such as the Italian actor and comedian Aldo Pellis (1927-2015), who gained popularity for his roles in numerous films and television shows throughout the latter half of the 20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pellis
Among Census respondents with the surname Pellis, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Black (6.8%) and Hispanic (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Pellis 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 Pellis surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.1% · 104
- Black or African American6.8% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pellis
Pellis appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#133,048
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 127
+9 bearers (+7.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 789 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
-9 bearers (-7.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,463 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #132,259 | 118 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #133,048 | 127 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+7.6%) | Down 789 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | -9 bearers (-7.1%) | Down 10,463 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 Pellis 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 | #133,048 | #143,511 | -7.9% |
| Count | 127 | 118 | -7.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pellis bearers went from 127 to 118 (-7.1% change). The surname moved down 10,463 positions in the national ranking, going from #133,048 to #143,511.
FAQ
Pellis surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pellis?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Pellis. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Pellis?
Pellis ranks #143,511 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 118 people with the surname Pellis. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), 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 Pellis.
Has Pellis become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pellis went from 127 recorded bearers to 118. That is a decrease of 9 (-7.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #133,048 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Pellis?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pellis, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Black (6.8%) and Hispanic (5.1%). 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 Pellis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.1% (104 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pellis appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.1%), Black (6.8%), Hispanic (5.1%). 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 Pellis (2000, 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 Pellis mean?
An occupational surname derived from a word for "skinner" or fur trader. 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 Pellis (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 common is the surname Pellis?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Pellis? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.