Find out how popular the last name Popescu is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Popescu.

Popescu, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Popescu surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Popescu in America

Popescu is the 19976th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Popescu surname appeared 1,342 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Popescu.

We can also compare 2010 data for Popescu to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Popescu

The surname Popescu is a Romanian patronymic name derived from the Romanian word "pop" meaning priest. It originated in the regions of Wallachia and Moldavia, which now make up modern-day Romania.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Popescu can be traced back to the 15th century, appearing in various historical documents and manuscripts from the region. One notable example is the Codex Sturdzanus, a 15th-century manuscript that mentions several individuals bearing the name Popescu.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Popescu gained widespread recognition and was often associated with members of the clergy and educated classes. In the 18th century, the name began to appear in various land ownership records and legal documents, indicating the growing influence of families bearing this surname.

Some notable historical figures with the surname Popescu include:

1. Gheorghe Popescu (1819-1892), a Romanian scholar and writer who played a significant role in the development of the Romanian language and literature.

2. Constantin C. Popescu (1869-1945), a renowned Romanian chemist and professor at the University of Bucharest.

3. Titus Popescu (1904-1981), a Romanian painter and graphic artist known for his works depicting Romanian rural life.

4. Dumitru Popescu-Colindina (1901-1977), a Romanian poet and translator who was a prominent figure in the Romanian avant-garde literary movement.

5. Ion Popescu-Gopo (1923-1989), a celebrated Romanian animator and film director, best known for his award-winning short films such as "A Brief History" and "The Luckiest Man in the World."

The name Popescu has also been associated with various place names and older spellings within Romania, such as Popești and Popes, which are derived from the same root word "pop" and often refer to villages or towns where priests or members of the clergy resided.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Popescu

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Popescu.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Popescu was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Popescu has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Popescu was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Popescu, please contact us.

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