2000
#4,333
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,587
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.81
Rare Last name
Poling
Derived from a place name meaning "people of the village of Poling" in Sussex, England.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,305 Americans carry the last name Poling. That puts it at #4,739 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.42 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 41,271 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Poling 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
8.3K
1 in 41,271
Census rank
#4,739
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,242 bearers of the surname Poling in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.42 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4739th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Poling, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Poling
The surname POLING is of English origin and dates back to the late 12th century. It is derived from the Old English word "pol", meaning a pool or small body of standing water. The name is thought to have originated as a descriptive surname for someone who lived near a pool or pond.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name POLING appears in the Curia Regis Rolls of Northumberland in 1214, which mentions a Thomas de Poling. This suggests the name was already well-established in northern England by the early 13th century.
During the medieval period, the name was sometimes spelled as Pooling or Pullin, reflecting its origins from the word "pol". There are also references to place names such as Poling in Sussex, which may have contributed to the development of the surname.
In the 16th century, a notable bearer of the name was Sir John Poling (c.1520-1587), an English Member of Parliament who served as Sheriff of Kent in 1572. Another early example is William Poling, who was born in Lincolnshire in 1603 and later emigrated to Virginia Colony in the 1620s.
Other historical figures with the surname POLING include Daniel Poling (1884-1968), an American Christian minister and author from Portland, Oregon. During World War II, he served as the chaplain of the United States Senate and was a prominent voice for religious unity.
In the 18th century, James Poling (1725-1809) was a Scottish immigrant to America who fought in the Revolutionary War and later settled in Pennsylvania. His descendants went on to establish themselves in various parts of the United States.
Another notable bearer of the name was John Poling (1786-1863), an early pioneer and settler in Ohio who served as a Justice of the Peace and was involved in the formation of several counties in the state.
The POLING surname has a rich history rooted in the English countryside, where it originally described someone who lived near a pool or pond. While the spelling has evolved over time, the name has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including politicians, ministers, and early American settlers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Poling
Among Census respondents with the surname Poling, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Poling 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 Poling surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.4% · 6,695
- Two or more races3.4% · 246
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 212
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 47
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 23
- Black or African American0.3% · 19
Timeline
Historical Census data for Poling
Poling 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
#4,558
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,779
+192 bearers (+2.5%)
Per 100,000 2.64
Rank movement Down 225 places
2020
#4,739
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,242
-537 bearers (-6.9%)
Per 100,000 2.42
Rank movement Down 181 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,333 | 7,587 | 2.81 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,558 | 7,779 | 2.64 | +192 bearers (+2.5%) | Down 225 places |
| 2020 | #4,739 | 7,242 | 2.42 | -537 bearers (-6.9%) | Down 181 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 Poling 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 | #4,558 | #4,739 | -4.0% |
| Count | 7,779 | 7,242 | -6.9% |
| Per 100K | 2.64 | 2.42 | -8.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Poling bearers went from 7,779 to 7,242 (-6.9% change). The surname moved down 181 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,558 to #4,739.
FAQ
Poling surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Poling?
Name Census estimates that about 8,305 living Americans carry the surname Poling. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 41,271 residents.
How common is Poling?
Poling ranks #4,739 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.42 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 7,242 people with the surname Poling. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,305), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.42 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.42 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 Poling.
Has Poling become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Poling went from 7,779 recorded bearers to 7,242. That is a decrease of 537 (-6.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,558 to #4,739.
What does the Census say about the background of Poling?
Among Census respondents with the surname Poling, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Poling in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (6,695 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Poling appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.4%), Two or More Races (3.4%), Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Poling (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 Poling mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "people of the village of Poling" in Sussex, England. 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 Poling (2.42 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 Poling?
Want to know how many people are called Poling? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.