2000
#150,436
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Pfadt
A German surname likely derived from the Middle High German word "pfat", meaning path or road.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 130 Americans carry the last name Pfadt. That puts it at #147,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,636,572 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pfadt 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
130
1 in 2,636,572
Census rank
#147,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
113
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 113 bearers of the surname Pfadt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pfadt, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pfadt
The surname PFADT is of German origin, originating in the region of Bavaria during the medieval period. It is derived from the Middle High German word "pfat," which means "path" or "trail." This suggests that the name was likely given to someone who lived near a well-known path or trail, possibly even a gatekeeper or toll collector along a major route.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name PFADT can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, dating back to the 13th century. The name appears as "Pfat" in reference to a landowner in the region.
In the 14th century, the name PFADT began to appear in various town records and tax rolls across southern Germany. One notable example is Johannes Pfadt, a merchant from Nuremberg, who was recorded in the city's guild records in 1386.
As the name spread throughout Germany, it also took on various spellings, such as Pfatt, Pfad, and Pfaadt, reflecting regional dialects and variations in pronunciation.
During the 16th century, the name PFADT gained prominence in the region of Franconia, where several notable individuals bore the name. One example is Hans Pfadt, a Protestant reformer and theologian born in Ansbach in 1510, who played a significant role in the spread of the Reformation in the region.
Another notable figure from this period is Anna Pfadt, born in Würzburg in 1562, who is recorded as one of the first female authors in Germany. Her published work, "Ein schön Neuw Gedicht von dem jüngsten Gericht" (A Beautiful New Poem on the Last Judgment), was a religious text that gained widespread popularity.
In the 17th century, the PFADT name spread further across Europe, with some bearers of the name migrating to other regions, such as the Netherlands and Sweden. One example is Pieter Pfadt, a Dutch merchant born in Amsterdam in 1624, who is mentioned in records of the Dutch East India Company.
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the PFADT name continued to be found across Germany and other parts of Europe. Notable individuals from this period include Johann Pfadt, a Bavarian composer and organist born in 1766, and Karl Pfadt, a German painter and illustrator born in Nuremberg in 1811.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pfadt
Among Census respondents with the surname Pfadt, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Pfadt 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 Pfadt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.5% · 109
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pfadt
Pfadt 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
#143,149
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+16 bearers (+16.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 7,287 places
2020
#147,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-3 bearers (-2.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,072 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #150,436 | 100 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #143,149 | 116 | 0.04 | +16 bearers (+16.0%) | Up 7,287 places |
| 2020 | #147,221 | 113 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.6%) | Down 4,072 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 Pfadt 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 | #143,149 | #147,221 | -2.8% |
| Count | 116 | 113 | -2.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pfadt bearers went from 116 to 113 (-2.6% change). The surname moved down 4,072 positions in the national ranking, going from #143,149 to #147,221.
FAQ
Pfadt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pfadt?
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the surname Pfadt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,636,572 residents.
How common is Pfadt?
Pfadt ranks #147,221 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 113 people with the surname Pfadt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (130), 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 Pfadt.
Has Pfadt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pfadt went from 116 recorded bearers to 113. That is a decrease of 3 (-2.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #143,149 to #147,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Pfadt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pfadt, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (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 Pfadt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.5% (109 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pfadt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.5%), Hispanic (1.8%), American Indian/Alaska Native (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 Pfadt (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 Pfadt mean?
A German surname likely derived from the Middle High German word "pfat", meaning path or road. 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 Pfadt (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 common is the surname Pfadt?
If you just want to know how many people are called Pfadt, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.