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

Poland, 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 Poland surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Poland in America

Poland is the 4581st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Poland surname appeared 7,746 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Poland.

We can also compare 2010 data for Poland 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 Poland

The surname POLAND is derived from the name of the country Poland, which is located in Central Europe. It is believed that this surname originated in the British Isles during the medieval period, possibly as a descriptive name for someone who had immigrated from Poland or had some association with the country.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname POLAND can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1296, where a person named John de Polania was listed. The use of the prefix "de" suggests that the name was originally a locational surname, indicating a connection to a place called Polania or a variant spelling.

In the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1279, there is a record of a person named William de Polonia, which is likely another early variation of the surname POLAND. These early records demonstrate that the surname was already in use in England by the late 13th century.

The surname POLAND may also have been derived from various place names in England that incorporated the word "Poland" or a similar spelling. For example, there is a village called Poland in Gloucestershire, and there were historical references to places called Poloniae and Polonya in other parts of England.

Among the notable individuals who have borne the surname POLAND throughout history are:

1. Sir John Poland (c. 1470-1547), an English merchant and politician who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1522.
2. John Poland (1607-1660), an English politician and member of the Long Parliament during the English Civil War.
3. William Poland (1834-1898), an English cricketer who played for Hampshire County Cricket Club in the 19th century.
4. Joseph Poland (1909-1998), an American baseball player who played for the Boston Red Sox and New York Giants in the 1930s.
5. Harry Poland (1922-2018), a British actor and playwright who had a successful career on stage and television.

While the surname POLAND has its roots in England and may have originated as a locational name, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and has been adopted by people of various ethnic backgrounds.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Poland

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

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

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

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