2000
#10,483
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,810
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.04
Rare Last name
Polzin
A surname of Slavic origin referring to someone living in an open field or derived from a place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,077 Americans carry the last name Polzin. That puts it at #11,264 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.90 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 111,392 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Polzin 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
3.1K
1 in 111,392
Census rank
#11,264
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,683 bearers of the surname Polzin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.90 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11264th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Polzin, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Polzin
The surname Polzin has its origins in Germany and can be traced back to the 16th century. It is derived from the German word "Polzer," which referred to a person who lived near a swampy or marshy area. The name was initially found in regions like Pomerania and Brandenburg, which had a significant number of wetlands and marshes.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Polzin can be found in the Brandenburg church records from the late 1500s. There are also mentions of individuals with this surname in the town of Stettin (now Szczecin, Poland) during the 17th century, indicating its prevalence in the Pomeranian region.
The Polzin surname has been documented in various historical records, including the Prussian census of 1676, where it appears with several spelling variations like Poltzin, Poltzien, and Poltzen. These variations reflect the regional dialects and the inconsistencies in record-keeping during that time.
Among notable individuals who bore the Polzin surname, Johann Polzin (1807-1878) was a German composer and music teacher. He composed several works for choir and orchestra and served as the director of music at the Cathedral of Berlin.
Another person of note was Karl Polzin (1856-1923), a German politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Reichstag (the German parliament) from 1898 to 1903, representing the National Liberal Party.
In the field of science, Hans Polzin (1920-2005) was a German physicist and academic who made significant contributions to nuclear physics and particle accelerator technology. He worked at the University of Bonn and was involved in several international research projects.
The Polzin surname also has a presence in the United States, with one of the earliest recorded individuals being Johann Polzin, who immigrated from Prussia in the mid-19th century and settled in Wisconsin.
A notable American bearer of the Polzin name was Edward Polzin (1910-1986), a professional baseball player who played in the Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1930s.
While the Polzin surname has its roots in Germany, it has spread to various parts of the world due to migration and immigration. However, its origins can be traced back to the marshlands and wetlands of northern Germany, where it likely originated as a descriptive name for individuals living in those areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Polzin
Among Census respondents with the surname Polzin, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Polzin 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 Polzin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.1% · 2,498
- Two or more races2.8% · 75
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 74
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 11
- Black or African American0.4% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Polzin
Polzin 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
#11,420
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,759
-51 bearers (-1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Down 937 places
2020
#11,264
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,683
-76 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.90
Rank movement Up 156 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,483 | 2,810 | 1.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,420 | 2,759 | 0.94 | -51 bearers (-1.8%) | Down 937 places |
| 2020 | #11,264 | 2,683 | 0.90 | -76 bearers (-2.8%) | Up 156 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 Polzin 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 | #11,420 | #11,264 | 1.4% |
| Count | 2,759 | 2,683 | -2.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.94 | 0.90 | -4.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Polzin bearers went from 2,759 to 2,683 (-2.8% change). The surname moved up 156 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,420 to #11,264.
FAQ
Polzin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Polzin?
Name Census estimates that about 3,077 living Americans carry the surname Polzin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 111,392 residents.
How common is Polzin?
Polzin ranks #11,264 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.90 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 2,683 people with the surname Polzin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,077), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.9 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.90 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 Polzin.
Has Polzin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Polzin went from 2,759 recorded bearers to 2,683. That is a decrease of 76 (-2.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #11,420 to #11,264.
What does the Census say about the background of Polzin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Polzin, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Polzin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (2,498 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Polzin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.1%), Two or More Races (2.8%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Polzin (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 Polzin mean?
A surname of Slavic origin referring to someone living in an open field or derived from a place name. 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 Polzin (0.90 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 share the surname Polzin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.