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

Pohl, 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 Pohl surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pohl in America

Pohl is the 5369th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pohl surname appeared 6,485 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Pohl.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pohl 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 Pohl

The surname Pohl is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "pol" or "pol(e)", meaning "pool" or "marsh". It likely originated as a topographic name, given to someone who lived near a swampy or marshy area.

The earliest known record of the name Pohl dates back to the 13th century in the German region of Saxony. The name was also found in various historical documents such as town records and tax rolls in other parts of Germany, including Bavaria and Silesia.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Pohl was Johannes Pohl, a German cleric and author who lived in the late 15th century. He wrote several works on theology and philosophy.

In the 16th century, the name Pohl appeared in the town of Wittenberg, where Martin Luther famously nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in 1517. One notable Pohl from this time period was Hans Pohl, a merchant and supporter of Luther's Reformation movement.

During the 18th century, the Pohl surname was found in various German-speaking regions, including Austria. Johann Pohl (1720-1801) was an Austrian botanist and naturalist who made significant contributions to the study of plant life in his country.

As the German-speaking population migrated to other parts of Europe and the Americas, the surname Pohl spread as well. In the 19th century, Johann Emanuel Pohl (1782-1834) was a German-born botanist and explorer who traveled extensively in Brazil, documenting the flora and fauna of the region.

Another notable individual with the Pohl surname was Robert Pohl (1857-1927), a German-American architect who designed several prominent buildings in Chicago, including the Auditorium Building and the Garrick Theater.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pohl

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

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

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

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