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

Poliakoff, 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 Poliakoff surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Poliakoff in America

Poliakoff is the 152628th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Poliakoff surname appeared 107 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Poliakoff.

We can also compare 2010 data for Poliakoff 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 Poliakoff

The surname Poliakoff originates from Russia and Poland, deriving from the Russian word "polyak," meaning a Polish person or someone from Poland. This surname likely emerged during the Middle Ages when Poland and Russia had frequent interactions and cultural exchanges.

Poliakoff is a patronymic surname, indicating that it was initially formed by adding the possessive suffix "-off" or "-ov" to the root name "Poliak." This naming convention was common in Slavic countries, denoting a person's place of origin or ancestry.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Poliakoff surname can be found in the Velvet Book, a 15th-century manuscript documenting noble families in Russia. The name appears in various spellings, including Polyakov, Polyakoff, and Poljakoff, reflecting the fluidity of surname spellings during that time.

In the 16th century, a branch of the Poliakoff family settled in the city of Novgorod, where they became prominent merchants and landowners. Historical records show that in 1587, Ivan Poliakoff was granted a charter by Tsar Feodor I, allowing him to establish trade routes between Novgorod and the Baltic regions.

Another notable figure bearing the Poliakoff surname was Grigory Poliakoff (1675-1742), a Russian diplomat and statesman who served as an ambassador to several European courts during the reign of Peter the Great. His diplomatic efforts played a crucial role in strengthening Russia's relationships with Western powers.

During the 19th century, the Poliakoff family gained prominence in the arts and sciences. Vasily Poliakoff (1810-1868) was a renowned Russian painter known for his landscape and genre scenes, while his brother, Nikolai Poliakoff (1818-1892), was a celebrated geologist and paleontologist who made significant contributions to the study of fossil fuels.

In the 20th century, the Poliakoff name gained international recognition through the work of renowned physicist Sir John Poliakoff (1914-2006). Born in London to Russian-Jewish parents, Sir John made groundbreaking discoveries in the field of nuclear physics and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986 for his work on neutron scattering.

Another prominent individual with the Poliakoff surname was the Russian-American writer and poet Vladimir Poliakoff (1897-1973). His literary works, which often explored themes of exile and cultural identity, were widely acclaimed and earned him numerous accolades, including the prestigious Pushkin Prize in 1967.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Poliakoff

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

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

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

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