2000
#12,088
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,368
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.88
Rare Last name
Polen
A habitational surname derived from various places in northern Germany, likely referring to a place near a field.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,424 Americans carry the last name Polen. That puts it at #13,724 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.71 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 141,400 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Polen 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
2.4K
1 in 141,400
Census rank
#13,724
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,114 bearers of the surname Polen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.71 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13724th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Polen, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.2%. The next largest groups are Black (9.3%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Polen
The surname Polen is believed to have originated in Poland, although its roots can be traced back to several centuries ago. The name is thought to be derived from the old Polish word "pole," which means "field" or "plain." This suggests that the name may have been initially given to someone who lived near or worked on an open field or plain.
The earliest recorded instances of the Polen surname can be found in various historical documents from the 13th and 14th centuries in Poland. One notable mention is in a manuscript from the city of Krakow, where a certain Jakub Polen was listed as a landowner in the year 1287.
As the name spread across different regions of Poland, it underwent several spelling variations, such as Polenz, Polenski, and Polenczyk. These variations often reflected the local dialects and regional pronunciations of the time.
In the 16th century, the Polen name also appeared in some German records, possibly due to migration or intermarriage between Polish and German families. One example is Hans Polen, a merchant from Gdansk (then known as Danzig) who traded goods with various cities in the Holy Roman Empire in the late 1500s.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the Polen surname. One such figure was Wojciech Polen, a Polish philosopher and theologian who lived in the 15th century and taught at the University of Krakow.
Another prominent person with this surname was Jan Polen, a Polish military officer who fought against the Swedish invasion during the Deluge (1655-1660). He is renowned for his bravery and leadership in defending the city of Poznan from Swedish forces.
In the 19th century, a Polish painter named Wladyslaw Polen gained recognition for his landscapes and portraits. He was born in 1823 in Warsaw and studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg.
Another notable individual was Zofia Polen, a Polish writer and activist who lived from 1882 to 1957. She was a prominent figure in the women's rights movement in Poland and wrote several novels and essays advocating for gender equality.
Finally, one cannot overlook Stanislaw Polen, a Polish mathematician and logician who made significant contributions to the field of set theory in the early 20th century. He was born in 1889 and taught at the University of Warsaw for many years.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Polen
Among Census respondents with the surname Polen, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.2%. The next largest groups are Black (9.3%) and Two or More Races (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Polen 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 Polen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.2% · 1,781
- Black or African American9.3% · 197
- Two or more races3.1% · 65
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 51
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Polen
Polen 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
#12,059
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,586
+218 bearers (+9.2%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Up 29 places
2020
#13,724
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,114
-472 bearers (-18.3%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Down 1,665 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,088 | 2,368 | 0.88 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,059 | 2,586 | 0.88 | +218 bearers (+9.2%) | Up 29 places |
| 2020 | #13,724 | 2,114 | 0.71 | -472 bearers (-18.3%) | Down 1,665 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 Polen 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 | #12,059 | #13,724 | -13.8% |
| Count | 2,586 | 2,114 | -18.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.88 | 0.71 | -19.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Polen bearers went from 2,586 to 2,114 (-18.3% change). The surname moved down 1,665 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,059 to #13,724.
FAQ
Polen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Polen?
Name Census estimates that about 2,424 living Americans carry the surname Polen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 141,400 residents.
How common is Polen?
Polen ranks #13,724 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.71 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,114 people with the surname Polen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,424), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.71 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.71 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Polen.
Has Polen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Polen went from 2,586 recorded bearers to 2,114. That is a decrease of 472 (-18.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,059 to #13,724.
What does the Census say about the background of Polen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Polen, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.2%. The next largest groups are Black (9.3%) and Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Polen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.2% (1,781 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Polen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.2%), Black (9.3%), Two or More Races (3.1%). 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 Polen (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 Polen mean?
A habitational surname derived from various places in northern Germany, likely referring to a place near a field. 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 Polen (0.71 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 Polen?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.