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

Popovich, 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 Popovich surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Popovich in America

Popovich is the 8368th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Popovich surname appeared 3,957 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Popovich.

We can also compare 2010 data for Popovich 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 Popovich

The surname Popovich originated in Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe. It is a patronymic surname, derived from the personal name Popa, which means "priest" in Serbian. The name likely emerged in the medieval period, when it was common for individuals to adopt surnames based on their father's occupation or personal name.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Popovich can be found in the Dubrovnik Archives, which date back to the 13th century. The archives contain references to individuals with the surname Popovich, indicating that the name was already in use during that time.

In the 15th century, a notable figure named Mihailo Popovich (1430-1486) was mentioned in historical records as a Serbian diplomat and writer. He served as an ambassador for the Serbian Despotate and is known for his literary works, including a biography of Serbian ruler Stefan Lazarević.

Another significant individual with the surname Popovich was Radovan Popovich (1939-2022), a Serbian cosmonaut who became the first non-Russian and first Yugoslav to travel into space. He participated in the Soyuz 18a mission in 1980 and spent nearly eight days aboard the Salyut 6 space station.

In the 19th century, a place called Popovich Brdo (Popovich Hill) was mentioned in historical documents related to the Serbian Principality. This suggests that the surname may have been associated with certain geographical locations or settlements.

Other notable individuals with the surname Popovich include:

1. Mihajlo Popovich (1823-1876), a Serbian painter and one of the founders of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts.
2. Vojislav Popovich (1916-2002), a Serbian writer and translator known for his works on Serbian folklore and literature.
3. Branko Popovich (1905-1986), a Yugoslav chess grandmaster and one of the strongest players in the world during the 1930s and 1940s.
4. Dušan Popovich (1912-1981), a Serbian mathematician and professor who made significant contributions to the field of functional analysis.
5. Vasilije Popovich (1870-1924), a Serbian Orthodox priest and writer who played a significant role in the cultural and religious life of Serbia in the early 20th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Popovich

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

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 Popovich 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 Popovich 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 Popovich was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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