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

Petrovitch, 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 Petrovitch surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Petrovitch in America

Petrovitch is the 139228th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Petrovitch surname appeared 120 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 Petrovitch.

We can also compare 2010 data for Petrovitch 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 Petrovitch

The surname Petrovitch has its origins in Russia, with records of the name appearing as early as the 16th century. It is a Patronymic surname, derived from the Russian given name Petr, meaning "rock" or "stone." The suffix "-vitch" or "-ovich" was commonly added to form a patronymic, indicating the name of the father.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Petrovitch surname can be found in the Velvet Book, a 16th-century manuscript containing records of Russian nobility. The name appears in various spellings, such as Petrovitch, Petrowitsch, and Petrovicz, reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions.

In the 17th century, the Petrovitch family played a significant role in the Russian Orthodox Church. Patriarch Nikon Petrovitch (1605-1681), a prominent figure in the Russian Orthodox Church, was instrumental in reforming the liturgical books and practices of the church during the reign of Tsar Alexis I.

The Petrovitch surname gained further prominence during the 18th century, particularly with the reign of Peter the Great (1672-1725). Several members of the Petrovitch family served as military officers and government officials during this period.

One notable Petrovitch was Ivan Petrovitch Prokopovicha (1658-1736), a Ukrainian-born Russian statesman, and writer who served as the first rector of the Slavic Greek Latin Academy in Moscow and later became a member of the Governing Senate under Peter the Great.

In the 19th century, the Petrovitch family continued to be influential in various fields. Nikolai Petrovitch Bogolyubov (1809-1892) was a renowned mathematician and mechanic who made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics and the study of the motion of rigid bodies.

Another prominent figure was Vasily Petrovitch Stassov (1824-1906), a Russian critic, and public figure who played a crucial role in promoting the works of composers such as Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and the artist Viktor Vasnetsov.

As the Petrovitch surname spread across Russia and Eastern Europe, variations in spelling and pronunciation emerged, leading to forms such as Petrowicz, Petrovics, and Petrovici. However, the core meaning and origin of the name remained rooted in the Russian patronymic tradition.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Petrovitch

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

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

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

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