Find out how popular the last name Ploeger is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Ploeger.
A Dutch surname derived from the word "ploeg" meaning "plow" or "plowman".
Ploeger, 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 Ploeger surname is from the 2010 census data.
Ploeger is the 31251st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Ploeger surname appeared 742 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 Ploeger.
We can also compare 2010 data for Ploeger 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.
| 2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 31251 | 32567 | -4.12% |
| Count | 742 | 665 | 10.95% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.25 | 0.25 | 0.00% |
The surname Ploeger has its origins in the Low German language, primarily spoken in northern Germany and the Netherlands. It is believed to have derived from the Low German word "ploger," which means "plowman" or "farmer." This occupational surname emerged during the late Middle Ages, a time when surnames were adopted to distinguish individuals by their professions or places of origin.
The Ploeger surname can be traced back to the regions of Westphalia and Lower Saxony in northwestern Germany, where it first appeared in historical records during the 13th and 14th centuries. The earliest known mention of the name is found in the Bremische Urkundenbuch, a collection of medieval documents from the city of Bremen, dated around 1280.
Throughout the centuries, the Ploeger surname has undergone various spelling variations, such as Plöger, Ploger, and Ploeger, reflecting regional dialects and scribal conventions of the time. Additionally, the name has been associated with several place names in northern Germany, including Plöger (a village in Lower Saxony) and Plogersdorf (a municipality in North Rhine-Westphalia).
Among the notable individuals bearing the Ploeger surname, one can mention Johann Ploeger (1597-1655), a German Lutheran theologian and author who served as a pastor in Stade, Lower Saxony. Another prominent figure was Friedrich Ploeger (1799-1876), a German painter and lithographer known for his landscapes and cityscapes.
In the Netherlands, the Ploeger surname can be traced back to the 16th century, with records indicating its presence in the provinces of Overijssel and Gelderland. One significant bearer of the name was Gerrit Ploeger (1843-1912), a Dutch politician and journalist who served as a member of the House of Representatives.
Further examples of historical figures with the Ploeger surname include Johann Heinrich Ploeger (1794-1865), a German sculptor and wood carver active in the Biedermeier period, and Konrad Ploeger (1872-1913), a German architect and urban planner who contributed to the development of the city of Düsseldorf.
While the Ploeger surname has its roots in northern Germany and the Netherlands, it has since spread to other parts of Europe and the world due to migration patterns and cultural exchanges. However, its origins can be traced back to the occupational term for "plowman" or "farmer," reflecting the agricultural heritage of the regions where it first emerged.
We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Ploeger.
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:
For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Ploeger was:
| Race/Ethnicity | Percentage | Total Occurrences |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Hispanic White Only | 96.63% | 717 |
| Non-Hispanic Black Only | 0.00% | 0 |
| Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only | 1.08% | 8 |
| Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native | (S)% | (S) |
| Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races | 1.89% | 14 |
| Hispanic Origin | (S)% | (S) |
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 Ploeger has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.
| 2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 96.63% | 97.44% | -0.83% |
| Black | 0.00% | (S)% | (S)% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 1.08% | 0.90% | 18.18% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | (S)% | 0.00% | (S)% |
| Two or More Races | 1.89% | 1.20% | 44.66% |
| Hispanic | (S)% | (S)% | (S)% |
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 Ploeger was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.
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