2010
#156,044
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Pewe
A pet form of the surname Pevsner, derived from the town of Peven in Germany.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Pewe. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pewe 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Pewe in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pewe, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pewe
The surname PEWE originated in Germany during the late Middle Ages, around the 14th or 15th century. It is derived from the Old German word "pew", which referred to a small, enclosed seating area or pew in a church. This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational surname for a pew-maker or someone responsible for maintaining the pews in a local church or religious establishment.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the PEWE surname can be found in a 16th-century church registry from the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria, which mentions a "Hans Pewe" as a resident of the town in 1524. This region, along with other parts of southern Germany and neighboring areas, appears to be where the name was most concentrated in its early history.
In the 17th century, a notable figure bearing the PEWE surname was Johann Pewe, a Lutheran theologian and professor at the University of Wittenberg, who was born in 1592 and died in 1657. His writings and teachings contributed to the intellectual climate of the Protestant Reformation in Germany during that period.
Another prominent individual with the PEWE surname was Friedrich Pewe, a German military officer and engineer who lived from 1698 to 1765. He served in the Prussian army under Frederick the Great and played a role in the construction and fortification of several military structures during the Wars of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War.
During the 19th century, the PEWE surname gained some recognition in the field of literature with the writer and poet Wilhelm Pewe, who was born in 1832 in the town of Mainz and published several collections of poetry and prose works before his death in 1901.
In more recent times, one notable bearer of the PEWE surname was Karl Pewe, a German physicist and inventor who lived from 1888 to 1976. He made significant contributions to the development of early television technology and held several patents related to cathode ray tubes and image transmission methods.
While the PEWE surname has its roots in Germany, over the centuries it has spread to other parts of Europe and beyond through migration and various historical events. However, its origins and early history remain firmly tied to the regions of southern Germany and the occupational and linguistic traditions of that area during the late medieval and early modern periods.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pewe
Among Census respondents with the surname Pewe, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Pewe 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 Pewe surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.5% · 105
- Two or more races3.6% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pewe
Pewe appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
+6 bearers (+5.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 6,598 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #156,044 | 104 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.8%) | Up 6,598 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 Pewe 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 | #156,044 | #149,446 | 4.2% |
| Count | 104 | 110 | 5.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pewe bearers went from 104 to 110 (+5.8% change). The surname moved up 6,598 positions in the national ranking, going from #156,044 to #149,446.
FAQ
Pewe surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pewe?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Pewe. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Pewe?
Pewe ranks #149,446 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 110 people with the surname Pewe. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), 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 Pewe.
Has Pewe become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pewe went from 104 recorded bearers to 110. That is an increase of 6 (+5.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #156,044 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Pewe?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pewe, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Pewe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.5% (105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pewe appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.5%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Pewe (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 Pewe mean?
A pet form of the surname Pevsner, derived from the town of Peven in Germany. 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 Pewe (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 many people have the last name Pewe?
Find out how many people have the last name Pewe on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.