2010
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Polty
A variant spelling of the surname Polti, derived from a place name in Italy.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Polty. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Polty 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Polty in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Polty, the largest self-reported group is American Indian/Alaska Native at 79.7%. The next largest groups are Black (12.7%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Polty
The surname Polty originated in the northern regions of England, specifically in the county of Northumberland, during the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "pol" and "ty," which together translate to "pool homestead" or "dwelling near a pool."
The earliest recorded mention of the name Polty can be traced back to the Pipe Rolls of Northumberland County in 1195, where a certain William de Polty is listed as a landowner. This suggests that the name had already been established in the region by the late 12th century.
In the 13th century, the name appeared in several medieval manuscripts, including the Assize Rolls of Northumberland in 1256, where a Thomas Polty is mentioned as a witness in a legal dispute over land ownership. This record provides further evidence of the name's prominence in the area during that time period.
The Polty surname is also linked to the village of Polty, located in Northumberland County. It is believed that the name originated as a descriptive name for individuals who resided near or owned land in this particular village.
One of the earliest notable bearers of the Polty surname was Sir John Polty, a knight who served under King Edward III during the Hundred Years' War in the 14th century. Sir John was born in 1325 and participated in several battles against the French, including the Battle of Crécy in 1346.
In the 15th century, the name appears in the records of the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Alnwick, Northumberland. The church register lists the baptism of a child named Robert Polty in 1472, indicating the continued presence of the Polty family in the region.
Another prominent individual with the Polty surname was William Polty, a merchant and landowner who lived in the 16th century. Records show that he owned several properties in the town of Morpeth, Northumberland, and was involved in the wool trade.
During the 17th century, the Polty family expanded their presence beyond Northumberland, with members settling in other parts of northern England, such as Yorkshire and Lancashire. One notable figure from this period was Elizabeth Polty, born in 1642, who was a renowned herbalist and midwife in the village of Wensleydale, Yorkshire.
In the 18th century, the name continued to be found in various parts of northern England, with several individuals bearing the Polty surname serving in the British military during the American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Polty
Among Census respondents with the surname Polty, the largest self-reported group is American Indian/Alaska Native at 79.7%. The next largest groups are Black (12.7%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Polty 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 Polty surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- American Indian and Alaska Native79.7% · 94
- Black or African American12.7% · 15
- Two or more races3.4% · 4
- White2.5% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Polty
Polty appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
-3 bearers (-2.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,207 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.5%) | Down 5,207 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 Polty 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 | #138,304 | #143,511 | -3.8% |
| Count | 121 | 118 | -2.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Polty bearers went from 121 to 118 (-2.5% change). The surname moved down 5,207 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #143,511.
FAQ
Polty surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Polty?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Polty. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Polty?
Polty ranks #143,511 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 118 people with the surname Polty. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), 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 Polty.
Has Polty become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Polty went from 121 recorded bearers to 118. That is a decrease of 3 (-2.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Polty?
Among Census respondents with the surname Polty, the largest self-reported group is American Indian/Alaska Native at 79.7%. The next largest groups are Black (12.7%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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?
American Indian/Alaska Native is the largest self-reported group for the surname Polty in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.7% (94 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Polty appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are American Indian/Alaska Native (79.7%), Black (12.7%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Polty (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 Polty mean?
A variant spelling of the surname Polti, derived from a place name in Italy. 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 Polty (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 Polty?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.