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

Plater, 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 Plater surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Plater in America

Plater is the 23785th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Plater surname appeared 1,063 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 Plater.

We can also compare 2010 data for Plater 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 Plater

The surname Plater has its origins in Poland, and can be traced back to the 15th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old Polish word "plater," which referred to a person who made or sold plates, or someone who worked with sheets of metal. The name was likely an occupational surname, given to individuals involved in metalworking trades.

The earliest recorded instances of the Plater surname can be found in historical documents from the region of Greater Poland, particularly in the areas around Poznań and Kalisz. One of the earliest known references to the name appears in a 1455 document from the town of Środa Wielkopolska, which mentions a "Jacobus Plater."

Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, the Plater family gained prominence in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, with several members holding significant positions in the nobility and military. One notable figure was Jan Andrzej Plater (1620-1678), a Polish nobleman and military commander who played a crucial role in the Polish-Swedish War of 1655-1660.

Another prominent Plater was Michał Jerzy Plater (1766-1834), a Polish-Lithuanian nobleman, politician, and writer. He served as a deputy to the Great Sejm of 1788-1792 and was a vocal supporter of the Polish Constitution of May 3, 1791, one of the earliest modern constitutions in Europe.

In the 19th century, the Plater name was also associated with the Polish uprisings against Russian rule. Władysław Plater (1808-1837) was a Polish military officer and a leader of the November Uprising of 1830-1831, while his brother, Ignacy Plater (1810-1847), was a participant in the Kraków Uprising of 1846.

The surname Plater has also been linked to various place names in Poland, such as the village of Platerów in the Masovian Voivodeship, and the town of Platerów in the Łódź Voivodeship. These place names likely originated from the Plater family's landholdings in those areas.

It is worth noting that the name Plater has undergone various spelling variations over the centuries, including Plather, Plather, and Plater. While the surname is predominantly associated with Poland and the Polish diaspora, it has also been found in other parts of Europe and the Americas due to migration and cultural exchange.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Plater

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

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

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

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