2000
#130,443
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Pillatzki
A toponymic surname derived from a place name in Poland or Lithuania.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Pillatzki. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pillatzki 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Pillatzki in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pillatzki, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pillatzki
The surname Pillatzki has its origins in the central European region of Silesia, which today straddles parts of modern-day Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic. The name is believed to have emerged in the late 15th or early 16th century, possibly derived from a Slavic root word meaning "to cut" or "to slice," suggesting that early bearers of this name may have been associated with occupations such as tailoring, woodcutting, or even military service.
One of the earliest documented references to the Pillatzki name can be found in the parish records of the village of Bierutów, located in the historic Duchy of Oels (now part of southwestern Poland). In these records, dating back to the mid-16th century, various spellings of the name appear, including Pilatzki, Pilatzke, and Pilatzky. This diversity of spellings was not uncommon in the era before standardized orthography became widespread.
As the Pillatzki family spread throughout Silesia and neighboring regions, the name began to appear in various historical documents and records. For instance, in the 17th century, a Christoph Pillatzki is listed as a landowner in the town of Glatz (now known as Kłodzko, Poland). Meanwhile, in the 18th century, a Johann Pillatzki is recorded as a merchant in the city of Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland).
One notable figure bearing the Pillatzki name was Carl Wilhelm Pillatzki (1767-1848), a Prussian jurist and legal scholar who served as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Appeal in Berlin. Another prominent individual was Theodor Pillatzki (1813-1891), a German writer and philosopher who was a proponent of the Young Hegelian movement.
Variations of the Pillatzki name can also be found in historical records from other parts of Central and Eastern Europe. For example, in the 19th century, a family by the name of Pilatzkij resided in the Russian Empire, with members living in cities such as Moscow and St. Petersburg. Additionally, the name Pilatzky was present in parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, with individuals bearing this surname residing in regions like Bohemia and Moravia.
While the Pillatzki surname may have originated in a specific geographic area, it has since spread to various parts of the world, carried by migrations and diasporas over the centuries. Despite this dispersion, the name continues to retain its connection to its Silesian roots, serving as a reminder of the rich cultural tapestry that has shaped the history and identity of Central Europe.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pillatzki
Among Census respondents with the surname Pillatzki, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Pillatzki 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 Pillatzki surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.0% · 110
- Two or more races4.3% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pillatzki
Pillatzki 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
#126,765
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 135
+15 bearers (+12.5%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 3,678 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
-18 bearers (-13.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 17,505 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #130,443 | 120 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #126,765 | 135 | 0.05 | +15 bearers (+12.5%) | Up 3,678 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | -18 bearers (-13.3%) | Down 17,505 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 Pillatzki 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 | #126,765 | #144,270 | -13.8% |
| Count | 135 | 117 | -13.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -21.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pillatzki bearers went from 135 to 117 (-13.3% change). The surname moved down 17,505 positions in the national ranking, going from #126,765 to #144,270.
FAQ
Pillatzki surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pillatzki?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Pillatzki. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Pillatzki?
Pillatzki ranks #144,270 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 117 people with the surname Pillatzki. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), 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 Pillatzki.
Has Pillatzki become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pillatzki went from 135 recorded bearers to 117. That is a decrease of 18 (-13.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #126,765 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Pillatzki?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pillatzki, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%). 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 Pillatzki in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.0% (110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pillatzki appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.0%), Two or More Races (4.3%), American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%). 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 Pillatzki (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 Pillatzki mean?
A toponymic surname derived from a place name in Poland or Lithuania. 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 Pillatzki (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 surname Pillatzki?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.