2000
#90,652
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 189
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.07
Very Rare Last name
Pohlig
An ethnic surname of German origin, potentially derived from a place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 197 Americans carry the last name Pohlig. That puts it at #109,465 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,739,870 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pohlig 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
197
1 in 1,739,870
Census rank
#109,465
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
172
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 172 bearers of the surname Pohlig in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 109465th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pohlig, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pohlig
The surname Pohlig is believed to have its origins in Germany. It is likely derived from the Low German word "pohlen," which means "to knock" or "to strike." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to an occupation, possibly a blacksmith or someone who worked with hammers or other striking tools.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Pohlig can be found in the town records of Quedlinburg, a town in the present-day state of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. In these records, a person named Hans Pohlig is mentioned as a resident in the year 1487.
Another early reference to the name comes from the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, a historical state in what is now northern Germany. In the parish records of the town of Celle, a Hans Pohlig is listed as having been born in 1523.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Pohlig name appears in various records across northern Germany, particularly in the regions of Lower Saxony and Westphalia. Several families with this surname can be found in the town records of Hannover, Osnabrück, and Minden.
One notable bearer of the Pohlig name was Johann Pohlig (1592-1647), a Protestant pastor and theologian from the town of Quedlinburg. He was known for his work in promoting religious education and publishing several books on theology.
Another individual with the Pohlig surname was Karl Pohlig (1810-1876), a German philosopher and writer who was born in the town of Celle. He wrote extensively on topics related to ethics and moral philosophy and is considered an influential thinker of the 19th century.
In the late 19th century, the Pohlig name also appears in records from the city of Leipzig, where a family of merchants and industrialists named Pohlig were prominent. One member of this family, Gustav Pohlig (1857-1923), founded the Pohlig steel manufacturing company, which became a major industrial concern in Germany.
While the Pohlig surname has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to emigration. However, its origins can be traced back to the northern regions of Germany and the Low German linguistic influences of that area.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pohlig
Among Census respondents with the surname Pohlig, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Pohlig 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 Pohlig surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.0% · 153
- Two or more races5.2% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.1% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino1.2% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pohlig
Pohlig 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
#103,655
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 173
-16 bearers (-8.5%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Down 13,003 places
2020
#109,465
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 172
-1 bearers (-0.6%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Down 5,810 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #90,652 | 189 | 0.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #103,655 | 173 | 0.06 | -16 bearers (-8.5%) | Down 13,003 places |
| 2020 | #109,465 | 172 | 0.06 | -1 bearers (-0.6%) | Down 5,810 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 Pohlig 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 | #103,655 | #109,465 | -5.6% |
| Count | 173 | 172 | -0.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.06 | 0.06 | -4.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pohlig bearers went from 173 to 172 (-0.6% change). The surname moved down 5,810 positions in the national ranking, going from #103,655 to #109,465.
FAQ
Pohlig surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pohlig?
Name Census estimates that about 197 living Americans carry the surname Pohlig. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,739,870 residents.
How common is Pohlig?
Pohlig ranks #109,465 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.06 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 172 people with the surname Pohlig. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (197), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.06 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 Pohlig.
Has Pohlig become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pohlig went from 173 recorded bearers to 172. That is a decrease of 1 (-0.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #103,655 to #109,465.
What does the Census say about the background of Pohlig?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pohlig, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.1%). 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 Pohlig in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.0% (153 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pohlig appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.0%), Two or More Races (5.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (4.1%). 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 Pohlig (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 Pohlig mean?
An ethnic surname of German origin, potentially derived from a place name. 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 Pohlig (0.06 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 Pohlig?
You can see how many Americans have the surname Pohlig on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.