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

Perlow, 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 Perlow surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Perlow in America

Perlow is the 34668th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Perlow surname appeared 652 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 Perlow.

We can also compare 2010 data for Perlow 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 Perlow

The surname Perlow originated in Eastern Europe, with its roots most likely traced back to the Jewish communities of Poland and Ukraine during the 16th and 17th centuries. The name is thought to be derived from the Yiddish word "perl," meaning "pearl," suggesting that early bearers of this name may have been involved in the pearl trade or had some connection to this precious gemstone.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Perlow surname can be found in the 17th century Polish tax records, where it is spelled "Perlov." This variation in spelling was common during that time, as standardized spellings were not yet widely adopted. Another early mention of the name appears in the 1765 census records of the town of Ternopil, located in what is now western Ukraine.

The Perlow surname has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. Jacob Perlow, born in 1820 in Warsaw, Poland, was a prominent rabbi and scholar who authored several works on Jewish law and philosophy. His son, Isaac Perlow (1849-1915), followed in his footsteps and became a respected rabbi and lecturer in Vilnius, Lithuania.

In the realm of literature, Hyman Perlow (1888-1964), an American author and journalist, made significant contributions with his works exploring Jewish culture and identity. His novel "The Broken Wall" (1928) was widely acclaimed for its portrayal of the struggles faced by Eastern European Jewish immigrants in the United States.

Another notable figure was Leon Perlow (1905-1987), a Polish-born American mathematician and computer scientist who played a pioneering role in the development of early computer systems at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the 1940s and 1950s.

Lastly, the Perlow name has also been associated with the town of Perlow in the Lublin region of Poland, although the exact connection between the surname and the place name is not entirely clear.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Perlow

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

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 Perlow 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 Perlow 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 Perlow was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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