2000
#136,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Pongonis
A locational surname derived from an unknown place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Pongonis. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pongonis 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Pongonis in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pongonis, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pongonis
The surname Pongonis is of Greek origin, with its roots traced back to the island of Crete in the Aegean Sea during the Byzantine era, around the 9th to 12th centuries AD. It is believed to have derived from the Greek word "pongos," which means "round" or "spherical," possibly referring to a physical characteristic or occupation of the earliest bearers.
One of the earliest known records of the name Pongonis can be found in a collection of medieval manuscripts from the Venetian archives, dated back to the 13th century. These documents mention a merchant named Georgios Pongonis, who was involved in the trade between Crete and Venice during that time.
In the 15th century, the name Pongonis appears in several tax records and legal documents from the region of Rethymno, Crete. One notable individual was Nikolaos Pongonis, a landowner and member of the local council, who lived between 1420 and 1492.
During the Ottoman rule over Crete in the 16th and 17th centuries, the Pongonis family maintained their presence on the island. A manuscript from the Monastery of Arkadi in Rethymno mentions a monk named Theodoros Pongonis, who served as the monastery's librarian in the late 1600s.
As the Pongonis family spread across the Mediterranean, variations of the surname emerged, such as Pongoni, Pongonidis, and Pongonitis. In the 18th century, a notable figure was Petros Pongonidis, a scholar and educator from the Ionian island of Zakynthos, who lived from 1725 to 1798.
In the 19th century, a renowned Greek philologist and linguist named Panagiotis Pongonis (1832-1912) made significant contributions to the study of ancient Greek literature and the preservation of the Greek language during the period of Ottoman rule.
While the Pongonis surname is relatively uncommon today, it continues to be found in various parts of Greece, particularly in Crete and the Ionian Islands, reflecting the rich history and cultural heritage of this ancient Greek name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pongonis
Among Census respondents with the surname Pongonis, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Pongonis 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 Pongonis surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 107
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 4
- Two or more races2.6% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pongonis
Pongonis 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
#129,047
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 132
+19 bearers (+16.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 7,736 places
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
-16 bearers (-12.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 15,981 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #136,783 | 113 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #129,047 | 132 | 0.04 | +19 bearers (+16.8%) | Up 7,736 places |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | -16 bearers (-12.1%) | Down 15,981 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 Pongonis 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 | #129,047 | #145,028 | -12.4% |
| Count | 132 | 116 | -12.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pongonis bearers went from 132 to 116 (-12.1% change). The surname moved down 15,981 positions in the national ranking, going from #129,047 to #145,028.
FAQ
Pongonis surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pongonis?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Pongonis. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Pongonis?
Pongonis ranks #145,028 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 116 people with the surname Pongonis. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), 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 Pongonis.
Has Pongonis become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pongonis went from 132 recorded bearers to 116. That is a decrease of 16 (-12.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #129,047 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Pongonis?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pongonis, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Pongonis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (107 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pongonis appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Hispanic (3.4%), Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Pongonis (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 Pongonis mean?
A locational surname derived from an unknown 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 Pongonis (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 common is the surname Pongonis?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Pongonis is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.