2000
#17,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,496
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.55
Rare Last name
Petrovic
A Serbian/Croatian patronymic surname derived from the given name Petar (Peter).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,296 Americans carry the last name Petrovic. That puts it at #14,377 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.67 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 149,283 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Petrovic 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Petrovic with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.3K
1 in 149,283
Census rank
#14,377
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,002 bearers of the surname Petrovic in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.67 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14377th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Petrovic, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Petrovic
The surname Petrovic has its origins in Serbia and Croatia, stemming from the Slavic word "Petar", meaning "rock" or "stone". The name is a patronymic, indicating "son of Petar", and was commonly used to distinguish families and individuals in these regions from the Middle Ages onwards.
Petrovic is derived from the personal name Petar, which in turn comes from the Greek name Petros. This was the name given to the apostle Peter in the New Testament, and it became a popular Christian name throughout Eastern Europe after the region's conversion to Christianity.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Petrovic can be found in the Dubrovnik Archives, which date back to the 13th century. The archives contain numerous references to individuals with the surname Petrovic, indicating its widespread use in the region during this time.
In the 14th century, a prominent Serbian family known as the Petrović-Njegoš ruled over Montenegro. This dynasty produced several notable figures, including Petar I Petrović-Njegoš (1747-1830), a poet and philosopher who served as the Prince-Bishop of Montenegro.
Another famous bearer of the Petrovic surname was Georgi Petrović (1835-1920), a Serbian-American inventor who is credited with developing the first practical air-conditioning system. His innovations played a significant role in the development of modern refrigeration and air-conditioning technologies.
In the realm of sports, Aleksandar Petrović (1959-2021) was a Serbian professional basketball player and coach. He won numerous titles as a player and later became a successful coach, leading the Yugoslav national team to the gold medal at the 2001 EuroBasket.
Radovan Petrović (1914-1942) was a Serbian Partisan and communist revolutionary who fought against the Nazi German occupation of Yugoslavia during World War II. He was posthumously awarded the Order of the People's Hero, one of Yugoslavia's highest military honors.
Milivoje Petrović (1888-1957) was a Serbian mathematician who made significant contributions to the fields of differential equations and functional analysis. He is particularly renowned for his work on the Picard iteration method and the Petrović operator.
The surname Petrovic continues to be prevalent in Serbia, Croatia, and other regions of the former Yugoslavia, as well as among Serbian and Croatian diaspora communities around the world. Its long history and widespread use reflect the cultural and linguistic ties that bind these Slavic nations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Petrovic
Among Census respondents with the surname Petrovic, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Petrovic 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 Petrovic surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.3% · 1,887
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 52
- Two or more races1.9% · 39
- Black or African American0.6% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Petrovic
Petrovic 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
#15,456
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,895
+399 bearers (+26.7%)
Per 100,000 0.64
Rank movement Up 1,939 places
2020
#14,377
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,002
+107 bearers (+5.6%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Up 1,079 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #17,395 | 1,496 | 0.55 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,456 | 1,895 | 0.64 | +399 bearers (+26.7%) | Up 1,939 places |
| 2020 | #14,377 | 2,002 | 0.67 | +107 bearers (+5.6%) | Up 1,079 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 Petrovic 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 | #15,456 | #14,377 | 7.0% |
| Count | 1,895 | 2,002 | 5.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.64 | 0.67 | 4.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Petrovic bearers went from 1,895 to 2,002 (+5.6% change). The surname moved up 1,079 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,456 to #14,377.
FAQ
Petrovic surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Petrovic?
Name Census estimates that about 2,296 living Americans carry the surname Petrovic. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 149,283 residents.
How common is Petrovic?
Petrovic ranks #14,377 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.67 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,002 people with the surname Petrovic. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,296), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.67 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.67 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Petrovic.
Has Petrovic become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Petrovic went from 1,895 recorded bearers to 2,002. That is an increase of 107 (+5.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #15,456 to #14,377.
What does the Census say about the background of Petrovic?
Among Census respondents with the surname Petrovic, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Petrovic in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.3% (1,887 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Petrovic appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.3%), Hispanic (2.6%), Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Petrovic (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 Petrovic mean?
A Serbian/Croatian patronymic surname derived from the given name Petar (Peter). 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 Petrovic (0.67 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 Americans have the surname Petrovic?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.