2000
#141,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Pleskach
A surname likely originating from a regional nickname or location name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Pleskach. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pleskach 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Pleskach in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pleskach, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.1%. The next largest groups are Black (1.0%) and Hispanic (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pleskach
The surname Pleskach is of Ukrainian origin and dates back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated in the region of Galicia, which was then part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The name is derived from the Ukrainian word "plesko," meaning "flat spot" or "bald spot," suggesting that the name may have been a descriptive nickname given to an ancestor who was bald or had a distinctive bald spot.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Pleskach can be found in the Lutsk Gospels, a 16th-century manuscript of the Gospels written in the Old Church Slavonic language. This manuscript, which is now housed in the National Library of Russia, contains a reference to a scribe named Pleskach who worked on its creation.
During the 17th century, the Pleskach name appeared in several historical records related to the Cossack uprisings and wars against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Notably, a Cossack leader named Ivan Pleskach is mentioned in chronicles from the Khmelnytsky Uprising of 1648-1657, though specific details about his life and role are scarce.
In the 18th century, the Pleskach surname spread beyond Galicia to other parts of Ukraine and neighboring regions. One notable figure from this period was Hryhoriy Pleskach (1720-1790), a prominent Ukrainian Orthodox priest and theologian who served as the Archimandrite of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, one of the most important monasteries in Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
As the Pleskach name continued to spread in the 19th century, it gained recognition in various fields. Petro Pleskach (1824-1892) was a Ukrainian writer and historian who authored several works on the history and culture of Ukraine. Mykola Pleskach (1854-1918) was a renowned Ukrainian painter and art educator, known for his landscapes and portraits depicting Ukrainian rural life.
In the 20th century, the name Pleskach remained prominent in Ukraine and among the Ukrainian diaspora. Vasyl Pleskach (1909-1976) was a Ukrainian artist and graphic designer who worked in the field of book illustration and poster design. Oleksandr Pleskach (1921-1997) was a Ukrainian footballer who played as a midfielder for several clubs in the Soviet Top League.
While the name Pleskach is relatively uncommon outside of Ukraine and Ukrainian diaspora communities, it has a rich history deeply rooted in Ukrainian culture and heritage, spanning several centuries and encompassing various fields such as religion, arts, literature, and sports.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pleskach
Among Census respondents with the surname Pleskach, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.1%. The next largest groups are Black (1.0%) and Hispanic (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Pleskach 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 Pleskach surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.1% · 101
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pleskach
Pleskach 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
#145,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
+6 bearers (+5.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,432 places
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-11 bearers (-9.6%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 8,962 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #141,788 | 108 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #145,220 | 114 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.6%) | Down 3,432 places |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | -11 bearers (-9.6%) | Down 8,962 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 Pleskach 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 | #145,220 | #154,182 | -6.2% |
| Count | 114 | 103 | -9.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pleskach bearers went from 114 to 103 (-9.6% change). The surname moved down 8,962 positions in the national ranking, going from #145,220 to #154,182.
FAQ
Pleskach surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pleskach?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Pleskach. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Pleskach?
Pleskach ranks #154,182 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 103 people with the surname Pleskach. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Pleskach.
Has Pleskach become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pleskach went from 114 recorded bearers to 103. That is a decrease of 11 (-9.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #145,220 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Pleskach?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pleskach, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.1%. The next largest groups are Black (1.0%) and Hispanic (1.0%). 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 Pleskach in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.1% (101 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pleskach appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.1%), Black (1.0%), Hispanic (1.0%). 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 Pleskach (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 Pleskach mean?
A surname likely originating from a regional nickname or location name. 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 Pleskach (0.03 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 Pleskach?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Pleskach is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.