2000
#135,837
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Pollner
A surname derived from a regional place name in Europe.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Pollner. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pollner 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
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Pollner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pollner, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Black (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pollner
The surname Pollner is of German origin, with its roots traced back to the late 15th century. It is believed to have originated in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony, where it was initially spelled as "Polner" or "Pollner." The name is derived from the Old German word "Polner," which refers to a person from Poland or someone with Polish ancestry.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Pollner surname can be found in the town records of Nuremberg, Germany, from the year 1492, where a certain Hanns Polner is mentioned as a resident. Another early reference appears in the Augsburg tax records of 1508, listing a certain Georg Pollner as a taxpayer.
The Pollner surname gained prominence in the 16th and 17th centuries, as members of the family held positions of importance in various German states. Notable individuals include Johann Pollner (1516-1588), who served as a respected jurist and legal advisor to the Duke of Saxony, and Hans Pollner (1567-1634), a renowned architect responsible for designing several churches and public buildings in the city of Dresden.
As the Pollner family spread across Germany and other parts of Europe, the name underwent slight variations in spelling, such as "Pollener," "Poellner," and "Pöllner." In the 18th century, a branch of the family settled in the Alsace region of France, where the name was sometimes rendered as "Pollnaire" or "Pollinaire."
Among the notable figures bearing the Pollner surname in more recent history are Karl Pollner (1812-1879), a German-Austrian composer and conductor who served as the director of the Vienna Court Opera, and Franz Pollner (1838-1899), an Austrian politician and lawyer who served as the Minister of Justice in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Other individuals of note include Emil Pollner (1874-1942), an Austrian chess master and author of several influential chess books, and Gustav Pollner (1899-1983), a German-American engineer and inventor who held numerous patents related to automotive technology and design.
While the Pollner surname has undergone various spelling variations over the centuries, it has maintained a strong presence in Germany, Austria, and other parts of Central Europe, with many individuals continuing to carry on the legacy of this historic name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pollner
Among Census respondents with the surname Pollner, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Black (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Pollner 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 Pollner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.0% · 114
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 3
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pollner
Pollner 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
#137,327
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
+8 bearers (+7.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,490 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
-2 bearers (-1.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,722 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #135,837 | 114 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #137,327 | 122 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+7.0%) | Down 1,490 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.6%) | Down 4,722 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 Pollner 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 | #137,327 | #142,049 | -3.4% |
| Count | 122 | 120 | -1.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pollner bearers went from 122 to 120 (-1.6% change). The surname moved down 4,722 positions in the national ranking, going from #137,327 to #142,049.
FAQ
Pollner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pollner?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Pollner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Pollner?
Pollner ranks #142,049 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 120 people with the surname Pollner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Pollner.
Has Pollner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pollner went from 122 recorded bearers to 120. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #137,327 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Pollner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pollner, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Black (0.8%). 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 Pollner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.0% (114 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pollner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.0%), Hispanic (2.5%), Black (0.8%). 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 Pollner (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 Pollner mean?
A surname derived from a regional place name in Europe. 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 Pollner (0.04 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 Americans have the surname Pollner?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.