2000
#12,807
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,206
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.82
Rare Last name
Pollitt
An English occupational surname derived from the Old French word "polet," meaning a young chicken or hen.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,429 Americans carry the last name Pollitt. That puts it at #13,700 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.71 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 141,109 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pollitt 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 Pollitt with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.4K
1 in 141,109
Census rank
#13,700
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,118 bearers of the surname Pollitt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.71 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13700th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pollitt, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.5%. The next largest groups are Black (6.4%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pollitt
The surname Pollitt has its origins in England, where it first appeared in the 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "pol" meaning "pool" or "stream" and "hyt" meaning "shelter" or "refuge." This suggests that the name may have originated from a place where people lived near a pool or stream.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Pollitt can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire from 1195, where it is spelled "Polhit." This variation in spelling was common during the Middle Ages due to the lack of standardized spelling conventions.
In the 13th century, the name appears in the Curia Regis Rolls of Lincolnshire as "Polhyt," indicating its presence in different regions of England. The earliest known bearer of the name was John Polyt, who was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327.
The Pollitt surname is also associated with several place names in England, such as Pollitt's Fold in Lancashire and Pollitt's Farm in Cheshire. These place names likely derived from individuals bearing the surname who lived or owned land in those areas.
Notable individuals with the surname Pollitt include:
1. John Pollitt (c. 1520-1557), an English Protestant martyr who was burned at the stake during the Marian Persecutions.
2. Thomas Pollitt (1780-1853), an English architect who designed several churches and public buildings in Manchester.
3. Walter Pollitt (1888-1957), a British trade unionist and politician who served as the General Secretary of the National Union of Railwaymen.
4. Harry Pollitt (1890-1960), a British communist and leader of the Communist Party of Great Britain during the mid-20th century.
5. Gordon Pollitt (1886-1918), an English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club and England.
While the Pollitt surname has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and Australia, carried by emigrants from the British Isles.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pollitt
Among Census respondents with the surname Pollitt, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.5%. The next largest groups are Black (6.4%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Pollitt 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 Pollitt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.5% · 1,833
- Black or African American6.4% · 136
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 70
- Two or more races3.0% · 63
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pollitt
Pollitt 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
#13,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,353
+147 bearers (+6.7%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 242 places
2020
#13,700
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,118
-235 bearers (-10.0%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Down 651 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,807 | 2,206 | 0.82 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,049 | 2,353 | 0.80 | +147 bearers (+6.7%) | Down 242 places |
| 2020 | #13,700 | 2,118 | 0.71 | -235 bearers (-10.0%) | Down 651 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 Pollitt 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 | #13,049 | #13,700 | -5.0% |
| Count | 2,353 | 2,118 | -10.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.80 | 0.71 | -11.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pollitt bearers went from 2,353 to 2,118 (-10.0% change). The surname moved down 651 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,049 to #13,700.
FAQ
Pollitt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pollitt?
Name Census estimates that about 2,429 living Americans carry the surname Pollitt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 141,109 residents.
How common is Pollitt?
Pollitt ranks #13,700 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 2,118 people with the surname Pollitt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,429), 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 Pollitt.
Has Pollitt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pollitt went from 2,353 recorded bearers to 2,118. That is a decrease of 235 (-10.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,049 to #13,700.
What does the Census say about the background of Pollitt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pollitt, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.5%. The next largest groups are Black (6.4%) and Hispanic (3.3%). 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 Pollitt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.5% (1,833 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pollitt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.5%), Black (6.4%), Hispanic (3.3%). 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 Pollitt (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 Pollitt mean?
An English occupational surname derived from the Old French word "polet," meaning a young chicken or hen. 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 Pollitt (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 Pollitt?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.