2000
#4,185
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,854
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.91
Rare Last name
Poland
A toponymic surname indicating an ancestor who came from Poland or a location within the country.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,317 Americans carry the last name Poland. That puts it at #4,734 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.43 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 41,211 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Poland 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 Poland with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.3K
1 in 41,211
Census rank
#4,734
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,253 bearers of the surname Poland in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.43 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4734th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Poland, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Black (4.3%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Poland
Among Census respondents with the surname Poland, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Black (4.3%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Poland 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 Poland surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.2% · 6,395
- Black or African American4.3% · 309
- Two or more races3.8% · 273
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 194
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 63
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 19
Timeline
Historical Census data for Poland
Poland 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
#4,581
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,746
-108 bearers (-1.4%)
Per 100,000 2.63
Rank movement Down 396 places
2020
#4,734
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,253
-493 bearers (-6.4%)
Per 100,000 2.43
Rank movement Down 153 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,185 | 7,854 | 2.91 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,581 | 7,746 | 2.63 | -108 bearers (-1.4%) | Down 396 places |
| 2020 | #4,734 | 7,253 | 2.43 | -493 bearers (-6.4%) | Down 153 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 Poland 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 | #4,581 | #4,734 | -3.3% |
| Count | 7,746 | 7,253 | -6.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.63 | 2.43 | -7.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Poland bearers went from 7,746 to 7,253 (-6.4% change). The surname moved down 153 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,581 to #4,734.
FAQ
Poland surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Poland?
Name Census estimates that about 8,317 living Americans carry the surname Poland. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 41,211 residents.
How common is Poland?
Poland ranks #4,734 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.43 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 7,253 people with the surname Poland. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,317), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.43 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.43 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 Poland.
Has Poland become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Poland went from 7,746 recorded bearers to 7,253. That is a decrease of 493 (-6.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,581 to #4,734.
What does the Census say about the background of Poland?
Among Census respondents with the surname Poland, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Black (4.3%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Poland in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.2% (6,395 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Poland appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.2%), Black (4.3%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Poland (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 Poland mean?
A toponymic surname indicating an ancestor who came from Poland or a location within the country. 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 Poland (2.43 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 have the surname Poland?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.