2000
#8,624
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,511
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.30
Rare Last name
Polite
A descriptive surname referring to an individual with a courteous, well-mannered, or refined demeanor.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,179 Americans carry the last name Polite. That puts it at #8,645 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.22 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 82,018 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Polite 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
4.2K
1 in 82,018
Census rank
#8,645
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,644 bearers of the surname Polite in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.22 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8645th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Polite, the largest self-reported group is Black at 79.9%. The next largest groups are White (10.8%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Polite
The surname POLITE originates from France, first appearing in records around the 11th century. It is derived from the Old French word "polite", which means "cultured" or "well-mannered". This name likely referred to someone who exhibited polite or refined behavior, a quality that was highly valued in medieval French society.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the POLITE surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a valuable record of landowners and tenants in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears as "Politus", which was a latinized version of the French "Polite".
During the 12th century, the POLITE surname began to spread across Europe as French nobility and merchants traveled and settled in other regions. In England, the name was sometimes anglicized to "Polly" or "Polley", as evident in various parish records from that era.
Notable individuals bearing the POLITE surname include:
1. Jean-Baptiste POLITE (1610-1677), a French architect responsible for designing several notable buildings in Paris, including the Church of Saint-Roch.
2. Étienne POLITE (1722-1803), a French playwright and author who wrote several comedies that were popular in the 18th century.
3. Marie-Thérèse POLITE (1758-1825), a French artist known for her intricate miniature portraits of aristocratic families.
4. William POLITE (1815-1901), an English explorer and naturalist who documented various plant and animal species in the Amazon rainforest.
5. Émilie POLITE (1867-1942), a French feminist and activist who campaigned for women's suffrage and equal rights in the early 20th century.
The POLITE surname can also be found in various place names throughout France, such as Polite-sur-Cher, a small village in the Loire Valley region, and Polite-la-Montagne, a commune in the Rhône-Alpes region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Polite
Among Census respondents with the surname Polite, the largest self-reported group is Black at 79.9%. The next largest groups are White (10.8%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Polite 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 Polite surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American79.9% · 2,912
- White10.8% · 394
- Two or more races4.9% · 180
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 115
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 27
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Polite
Polite 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
#8,067
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,108
+597 bearers (+17.0%)
Per 100,000 1.39
Rank movement Up 557 places
2020
#8,645
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,644
-464 bearers (-11.3%)
Per 100,000 1.22
Rank movement Down 578 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,624 | 3,511 | 1.30 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,067 | 4,108 | 1.39 | +597 bearers (+17.0%) | Up 557 places |
| 2020 | #8,645 | 3,644 | 1.22 | -464 bearers (-11.3%) | Down 578 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 Polite 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 | #8,067 | #8,645 | -7.2% |
| Count | 4,108 | 3,644 | -11.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.39 | 1.22 | -12.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Polite bearers went from 4,108 to 3,644 (-11.3% change). The surname moved down 578 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,067 to #8,645.
FAQ
Polite surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Polite?
Name Census estimates that about 4,179 living Americans carry the surname Polite. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 82,018 residents.
How common is Polite?
Polite ranks #8,645 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.22 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 3,644 people with the surname Polite. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,179), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.22 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.22 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 Polite.
Has Polite become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Polite went from 4,108 recorded bearers to 3,644. That is a decrease of 464 (-11.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,067 to #8,645.
What does the Census say about the background of Polite?
Among Census respondents with the surname Polite, the largest self-reported group is Black at 79.9%. The next largest groups are White (10.8%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Polite in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.9% (2,912 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Polite appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (79.9%), White (10.8%), Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Polite (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 Polite mean?
A descriptive surname referring to an individual with a courteous, well-mannered, or refined demeanor. 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 Polite (1.22 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 are called Polite?
Want to know how many people have the surname Polite? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.