2000
#134,037
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Podlas
An occupational surname derived from the Polish word for "soles", referring to a shoemaker or cobbler.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 128 Americans carry the last name Podlas. That puts it at #147,954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,677,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Podlas 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
128
1 in 2,677,768
Census rank
#147,954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
112
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 112 bearers of the surname Podlas in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Podlas, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Podlas
The surname Podlas originated in the region of Silesia, a historical province that is now divided between modern-day Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic. The name is believed to have emerged in the late 15th or early 16th century, deriving from the Polish word "podlas," which means "under the forest" or "near the woods."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Podlas name can be found in the Akta Grodzkie, a collection of court records from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, dating back to the 16th century. These records mention individuals with variations of the name, such as Podlaski and Podlasiak, which likely share a similar etymological root.
In the 17th century, the Podlas name appears in various parish registers and local chronicles throughout the Silesian region. One notable bearer of the name was Jan Podlas, a prominent landowner and local official in the town of Opole, who lived from 1620 to 1688.
As the Podlas family spread across Central Europe in the following centuries, the name underwent some spelling variations, including Podlasz, Podlasek, and Podlasczyk. These variations reflect the influence of different languages and regional dialects on the spelling and pronunciation of the surname.
During the 18th century, the Podlas name gained recognition through the achievements of Jakub Podlas, a renowned craftsman and woodcarver who worked in the city of Wrocław (formerly known as Breslau). His intricate woodcarvings adorned numerous churches and buildings across Silesia, earning him widespread acclaim from 1745 until his death in 1793.
Another notable figure with the Podlas surname was Karolina Podlas, a writer and activist who campaigned for women's rights and education in the late 19th century. Born in 1854 in the town of Bielsko (now part of Poland), she published several books and articles advocating for gender equality and social reforms.
In the 20th century, the Podlas name continued to be present across various parts of Central Europe. One prominent individual was Tadeusz Podlas, a Polish philosopher and academic who made significant contributions to the field of ethics and moral philosophy. He was born in 1912 in Kraków and taught at various universities until his death in 1998.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Podlas
Among Census respondents with the surname Podlas, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Podlas 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 Podlas surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.9% · 94
- Hispanic or Latino14.3% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Podlas
Podlas 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
#140,157
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
+3 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,120 places
2020
#147,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
-7 bearers (-5.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,797 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,037 | 116 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #140,157 | 119 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 6,120 places |
| 2020 | #147,954 | 112 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-5.9%) | Down 7,797 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 Podlas 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 | #140,157 | #147,954 | -5.6% |
| Count | 119 | 112 | -5.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Podlas bearers went from 119 to 112 (-5.9% change). The surname moved down 7,797 positions in the national ranking, going from #140,157 to #147,954.
FAQ
Podlas surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Podlas?
Name Census estimates that about 128 living Americans carry the surname Podlas. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,677,768 residents.
How common is Podlas?
Podlas ranks #147,954 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 112 people with the surname Podlas. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (128), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Podlas.
Has Podlas become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Podlas went from 119 recorded bearers to 112. That is a decrease of 7 (-5.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #140,157 to #147,954.
What does the Census say about the background of Podlas?
Among Census respondents with the surname Podlas, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Podlas in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.9% (94 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Podlas appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.9%), Hispanic (14.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Podlas (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 Podlas mean?
An occupational surname derived from the Polish word for "soles", referring to a shoemaker or cobbler. 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 Podlas (0.04 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 Podlas?
See how many Americans have the surname Podlas on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.