2000
#5,027
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,406
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.37
Rare Last name
Pohl
Derived from the German word for "pool" or "pond," likely referring to someone who lived near such a feature.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,349 Americans carry the last name Pohl. That puts it at #5,256 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.14 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 46,640 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pohl 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Pohl with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.3K
1 in 46,640
Census rank
#5,256
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,409 bearers of the surname Pohl in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.14 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5256th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pohl, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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 The name was also found in various historical documents such as town records and tax rolls in other parts of Germany, including Bavaria and Silesia.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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pohl
Among Census respondents with the surname Pohl, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Pohl 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 Pohl surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.9% · 5,634
- Hispanic or Latino7.8% · 499
- Two or more races2.8% · 179
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 57
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 21
- Black or African American0.3% · 19
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pohl
Pohl 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
#5,369
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,485
+79 bearers (+1.2%)
Per 100,000 2.20
Rank movement Down 342 places
2020
#5,256
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,409
-76 bearers (-1.2%)
Per 100,000 2.14
Rank movement Up 113 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,027 | 6,406 | 2.37 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,369 | 6,485 | 2.20 | +79 bearers (+1.2%) | Down 342 places |
| 2020 | #5,256 | 6,409 | 2.14 | -76 bearers (-1.2%) | Up 113 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 Pohl 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 | #5,369 | #5,256 | 2.1% |
| Count | 6,485 | 6,409 | -1.2% |
| Per 100K | 2.20 | 2.14 | -2.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pohl bearers went from 6,485 to 6,409 (-1.2% change). The surname moved up 113 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,369 to #5,256.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Pohl
FAQ
Pohl surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pohl?
Name Census estimates that about 7,349 living Americans carry the surname Pohl. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 46,640 residents.
How common is Pohl?
Pohl ranks #5,256 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.14 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,409 people with the surname Pohl. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,349), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.14 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.14 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Pohl.
Has Pohl become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pohl went from 6,485 recorded bearers to 6,409. That is a decrease of 76 (-1.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #5,369 to #5,256.
What does the Census say about the background of Pohl?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pohl, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Pohl in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.9% (5,634 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pohl appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.9%), Hispanic (7.8%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Pohl (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 Pohl mean?
Derived from the German word for "pool" or "pond," likely referring to someone who lived near such a feature. 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 Pohl (2.14 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 many people are called Pohl?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Pohl on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.