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

Plotkin, 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 Plotkin surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Plotkin in America

Plotkin is the 13241st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Plotkin surname appeared 2,306 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Plotkin.

We can also compare 2010 data for Plotkin 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 Plotkin

The surname Plotkin has its origins in Eastern Europe, specifically in Russia and Ukraine. It is a patronymic surname, which means it was derived from the name of a father or ancestor. The root of the name is believed to come from the Slavic word "plot," meaning "flesh" or "body."

In the early days, surnames were often descriptive, reflecting a person's physical characteristics, occupation, or place of origin. It is possible that the name Plotkin was initially given to someone who worked as a butcher, tanner, or in a similar profession related to handling flesh or animal hides.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Plotkin can be found in the Revizskie Skazki, which were census-like records kept by the Russian Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries. These records provided valuable information about the distribution and prevalence of surnames across various regions.

The Plotkin surname can also be traced back to the shtetls (small Jewish towns) of Ukraine and Belarus, where it was quite common among Jewish communities. Some notable individuals with the surname Plotkin include:

1. Yakov Plotkin (1893-1942), a Soviet mathematician and academic who made significant contributions to the field of probability theory.
2. Elizaveta Plotkina (1844-1924), a Russian writer and translator known for her works on women's rights and education.
3. Mark Plotkin (born 1955), an American ethnobotanist and environmentalist who has worked extensively with indigenous communities in the Amazon rainforest.
4. Lev Plotkin (1872-1919), a Russian revolutionary and Bolshevik activist who participated in the October Revolution of 1917.
5. Rina Plotkin (born 1931), an Israeli sculptor and artist whose works have been exhibited in various galleries and museums around the world.

While the surname Plotkin may have evolved over time, with slight variations in spelling or pronunciation, its roots can be traced back to the rich cultural heritage of Eastern European Jewish communities and the customs and traditions of the region.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Plotkin

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

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

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

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