2000
#138,741
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Pewo
A name of East Germanic origin derived from the surname "Pewo" meaning an archer or bowman.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Pewo. 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 Pewo 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 Pewo 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 Pewo, the largest self-reported group is American Indian/Alaska Native at 56.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.2%) and White (10.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pewo
The surname PEWO is of Germanic origin, tracing its roots back to the 9th century in the region that is now modern-day Germany. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "pewo," which meant "peacock." This suggests that the name might have initially been used as a nickname for someone with a proud or ostentatious demeanor, or perhaps as a descriptor for someone who worked with peacocks or other exotic birds.
One of the earliest known references to the name PEWO can be found in a medieval manuscript from the Monastery of St. Gallen, dated around 1150 CE. The document mentions a "Pewo von Augsburg," which suggests that the name was already in use in the region of Augsburg, Bavaria, during the 12th century.
In the 13th century, records from the Duchy of Saxony mention a "Henricus Pewo," who was a nobleman and landowner in the region. This indicates that the name had gained some prominence and was associated with nobility during this time period.
The earliest known individual with the surname PEWO was Johannes Pewo, born in 1342 in the town of Erfurt, in what is now the state of Thuringia, Germany. He was a renowned scholar and theologian who taught at the University of Prague and authored several influential works on philosophy and theology.
Another notable figure in the history of the PEWO name was Margarethe Pewo, born in 1512 in Nuremberg. She was a prominent member of the city's guild of weavers and is credited with developing several innovative techniques in textile production that helped establish Nuremberg as a center of the textile industry during the Renaissance.
In the 16th century, the name PEWO also appears in records from the Netherlands, suggesting that some families bearing this surname had migrated from Germany to the Low Countries. One such individual was Pieter Pewo, born in 1568 in Amsterdam, who was a successful merchant and ship owner involved in the Dutch East India Company's trade with the East Indies.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the PEWO name continued to be found in various parts of Germany, with several individuals achieving prominence in fields such as academia, law, and the military. For example, Johann Pewo (1628-1701) was a respected jurist and legal scholar who served as a judge in the city of Leipzig, while Friedrich Pewo (1742-1816) was a Prussian military officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pewo
Among Census respondents with the surname Pewo, the largest self-reported group is American Indian/Alaska Native at 56.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.2%) and White (10.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Pewo 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 Pewo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- American Indian and Alaska Native56.4% · 62
- Hispanic or Latino18.2% · 20
- White10.9% · 12
- Two or more races10.0% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 3
- Black or African American1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pewo
Pewo 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
#141,140
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+7 bearers (+6.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,399 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-8 bearers (-6.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,306 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #138,741 | 111 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #141,140 | 118 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+6.3%) | Down 2,399 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -8 bearers (-6.8%) | Down 8,306 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 Pewo 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 | #141,140 | #149,446 | -5.9% |
| Count | 118 | 110 | -6.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pewo bearers went from 118 to 110 (-6.8% change). The surname moved down 8,306 positions in the national ranking, going from #141,140 to #149,446.
FAQ
Pewo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pewo?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Pewo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Pewo?
Pewo 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 Pewo. 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 Pewo.
Has Pewo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pewo went from 118 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 8 (-6.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #141,140 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Pewo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pewo, the largest self-reported group is American Indian/Alaska Native at 56.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.2%) and White (10.9%). 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?
American Indian/Alaska Native is the largest self-reported group for the surname Pewo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.4% (62 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pewo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are American Indian/Alaska Native (56.4%), Hispanic (18.2%), White (10.9%). 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 Pewo (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 Pewo mean?
A name of East Germanic origin derived from the surname "Pewo" meaning an archer or bowman. 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 Pewo (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 are called Pewo?
Want to know how many people have the last name Pewo? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.