2000
#144,908
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Pontsler
A locational surname derived from a place name, possibly related to a bridge or passage over water.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Pontsler. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pontsler 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Pontsler in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pontsler, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pontsler
The surname Pontsler is believed to have originated in Germany during the 16th century. It is thought to be derived from the German word "Pöntsler," which referred to a person who made or sold pots or earthenware vessels. The name may also have been influenced by the German word "Ponz," meaning a pond or small body of water.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Pontsler can be found in the town records of Nuremberg, where a potter named Hans Pontsler was documented in 1578. In the same century, the name appeared in the baptismal records of the village of Bamberg, where a child named Katharina Pontsler was christened in 1593.
During the 17th century, the Pontsler name began to spread across central Europe. In 1622, a merchant by the name of Johann Pontsler was mentioned in the trade records of the city of Frankfurt. A few decades later, in 1674, a farmer named Peter Pontsler was recorded in the land registry of a small village near the town of Heidelberg.
One notable bearer of the Pontsler name was Wilhelm Pontsler, a German philosopher and theologian who lived from 1688 to 1754. He is best known for his work "Treatise on the Nature of the Soul," which was widely read and debated in academic circles of the time.
In the 18th century, the Pontsler name made its way to other parts of Europe. In 1723, a family by the name of Pontsler settled in the town of Strasbourg, which was then part of the French province of Alsace. Around the same time, a man named Jakob Pontsler was recorded as a resident of the city of Prague in the Kingdom of Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic).
Another notable figure with the surname Pontsler was Maria Pontsler, a German painter who lived from 1789 to 1867. She was known for her portraits and landscapes, which captured the beauty of the German countryside and its people.
By the 19th century, the Pontsler name had spread further across Europe and even reached the United States. In 1832, a family of Pontslers immigrated to the city of Philadelphia from the German state of Bavaria. One of their descendants, Heinrich Pontsler (1856-1923), became a prominent businessman and philanthropist in the city.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pontsler
Among Census respondents with the surname Pontsler, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Pontsler 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 Pontsler surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.7% · 112
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 4
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pontsler
Pontsler 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
#143,149
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+11 bearers (+10.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 1,759 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
+1 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,121 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #144,908 | 105 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #143,149 | 116 | 0.04 | +11 bearers (+10.5%) | Up 1,759 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 1,121 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 Pontsler 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 | #143,149 | #144,270 | -0.8% |
| Count | 116 | 117 | 0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pontsler bearers went from 116 to 117 (+0.9% change). The surname moved down 1,121 positions in the national ranking, going from #143,149 to #144,270.
FAQ
Pontsler surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pontsler?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Pontsler. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Pontsler?
Pontsler ranks #144,270 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 117 people with the surname Pontsler. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), 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 Pontsler.
Has Pontsler become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pontsler went from 116 recorded bearers to 117. That is an increase of 1 (+0.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #143,149 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Pontsler?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pontsler, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Pontsler in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.7% (112 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pontsler appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.7%), Hispanic (3.4%), Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Pontsler (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 Pontsler mean?
A locational surname derived from a place name, possibly related to a bridge or passage over water. 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 Pontsler (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 people have the last name Pontsler?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Pontsler is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.