2010
#159,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Poelking
A surname derived from a Germanic personal name or nickname meaning "large" or "powerful".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Poelking. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Poelking 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
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Poelking in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Poelking, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Black (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Poelking
The surname Poelking is believed to have originated in Germany, possibly during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Old German word "polle," meaning "pool" or "pond," combined with the suffix "-ing," which denotes a place of origin. This suggests that the name may have referred to someone who lived near a pool or pond.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Poelking can be found in the Heidelberg Manuscript, a collection of legal documents dating back to the 14th century. In this manuscript, a person named Hans Poelking is mentioned as a witness in a land dispute.
During the 16th century, the name Poelking appears in various church records and tax rolls in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony. This indicates that families bearing this surname were established in these areas at the time.
In the 17th century, a notable figure named Johann Poelking (1592-1663) was a prominent Lutheran theologian and professor at the University of Wittenberg. He authored several influential works on theology and played a significant role in the ongoing religious debates of the era.
Another individual of note was Friedrich Poelking (1718-1792), a German philosopher and writer who was a proponent of the Enlightenment movement. He published several essays and treatises that explored themes of reason, progress, and human rights.
In the 19th century, the surname Poelking appears to have spread beyond Germany, with records showing individuals bearing this name in parts of Eastern Europe and even as far as the United States. A notable example is Wilhelm Poelking (1819-1897), a German-American businessman and philanthropist who established a successful brewing company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Other notable individuals with the surname Poelking include Erich Poelking (1876-1944), a German artist and illustrator known for his work in children's literature, and Hildegard Poelking (1902-1987), a German painter and sculptor whose works were inspired by the expressionist movement.
Throughout its history, the surname Poelking has undergone several spelling variations, such as Pölking, Poelking, and Pohlking, reflecting the linguistic diversity and regional variations within Germany and other areas where the name was present.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Poelking
Among Census respondents with the surname Poelking, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Black (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Poelking 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 Poelking surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.4% · 102
- Two or more races2.8% · 3
- Black or African American1.9% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Poelking
Poelking appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
+7 bearers (+6.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 8,777 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #159,712 | 101 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+6.9%) | Up 8,777 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 Poelking 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 | #159,712 | #150,935 | 5.5% |
| Count | 101 | 108 | 6.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 20.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Poelking bearers went from 101 to 108 (+6.9% change). The surname moved up 8,777 positions in the national ranking, going from #159,712 to #150,935.
FAQ
Poelking surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Poelking?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Poelking. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Poelking?
Poelking ranks #150,935 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 108 people with the surname Poelking. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), 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 Poelking.
Has Poelking become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Poelking went from 101 recorded bearers to 108. That is an increase of 7 (+6.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #159,712 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Poelking?
Among Census respondents with the surname Poelking, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Black (1.9%). 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 Poelking in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.4% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Poelking appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.4%), Two or More Races (2.8%), Black (1.9%). 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 Poelking (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 Poelking mean?
A surname derived from a Germanic personal name or nickname meaning "large" or "powerful". 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 Poelking (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 Poelking?
Want to know how many people are called Poelking? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.