2000
#12,677
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,238
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.83
Rare Last name
Poche
A French occupational surname referring to a person who made or sold bags or pouches.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,596 Americans carry the last name Poche. That puts it at #12,967 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 132,032 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Poche 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
2.6K
1 in 132,032
Census rank
#12,967
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,264 bearers of the surname Poche in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12967th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Poche, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.3%. The next largest groups are Black (10.0%) and Hispanic (7.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Poche
The surname Poche is of French origin, derived from the Old French word "poche" which means "bag" or "pouch." This name likely originated as a descriptive surname for someone who carried a bag or pouch, perhaps as part of their occupation or trade.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Poche can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of France, particularly in the northern and central areas. One of the earliest known bearers of this name was Jean Poche, a merchant from the city of Paris, who was mentioned in a legal document dated 1287.
In the 14th century, the name Poche appeared in several medieval records and manuscripts, including the Froissart's Chronicles, a famous historical work written by Jean Froissart. This suggests that individuals bearing this surname may have been involved in various professions or trades during that time period.
The surname Poche has also been associated with certain place names in France, such as Pocheville, a small village in the department of Eure-et-Loir. This place name likely derived from the surname itself, indicating that families with the name Poche may have established settlements or owned land in that area.
Notable individuals with the surname Poche throughout history include:
1. Jacques Poche (1550-1628), a French Huguenot merchant and politician who served as a member of the Parliament of Paris.
2. Pierre Poche (1675-1741), a French military officer who participated in the War of the Spanish Succession.
3. Marie-Françoise Poche (1712-1789), a French author and playwright known for her satirical works.
4. Louis Poche (1804-1871), a French architect who designed several notable buildings in Paris, including the Palais Garnier (Paris Opera House).
5. Émile Poche (1857-1935), a French physicist and inventor who contributed to the development of early X-ray technology.
While the surname Poche has its roots in France, it has also been adopted and modified in other countries and languages over time, reflecting the migration patterns and cultural influences of people bearing this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Poche
Among Census respondents with the surname Poche, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.3%. The next largest groups are Black (10.0%) and Hispanic (7.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Poche 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 Poche surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.3% · 1,773
- Black or African American10.0% · 226
- Hispanic or Latino7.8% · 176
- Two or more races2.8% · 64
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Poche
Poche 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
#12,971
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,367
+129 bearers (+5.8%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 294 places
2020
#12,967
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,264
-103 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Up 4 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,677 | 2,238 | 0.83 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,971 | 2,367 | 0.80 | +129 bearers (+5.8%) | Down 294 places |
| 2020 | #12,967 | 2,264 | 0.76 | -103 bearers (-4.4%) | Up 4 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 Poche 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 | #12,971 | #12,967 | 0.0% |
| Count | 2,367 | 2,264 | -4.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.80 | 0.76 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Poche bearers went from 2,367 to 2,264 (-4.4% change). The surname moved up 4 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,971 to #12,967.
FAQ
Poche surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Poche?
Name Census estimates that about 2,596 living Americans carry the surname Poche. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 132,032 residents.
How common is Poche?
Poche ranks #12,967 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,264 people with the surname Poche. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,596), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.76 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Poche.
Has Poche become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Poche went from 2,367 recorded bearers to 2,264. That is a decrease of 103 (-4.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,971 to #12,967.
What does the Census say about the background of Poche?
Among Census respondents with the surname Poche, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.3%. The next largest groups are Black (10.0%) and Hispanic (7.8%). 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 Poche in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.3% (1,773 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Poche appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.3%), Black (10.0%), Hispanic (7.8%). 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 Poche (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 Poche mean?
A French occupational surname referring to a person who made or sold bags or pouches. 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 Poche (0.76 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 common is the surname Poche?
Want to know how common the surname Poche is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.