2000
#135,837
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Poska
A surname derived from a Polish word meaning a small village or settlement.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Poska. 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 Poska 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 Poska 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 Poska, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Poska
The surname POSKA is believed to have originated in the region of modern-day Poland and Ukraine. The earliest recorded instances of this name date back to the 16th century, with many of the earliest records found in parish registries and official documents from the towns and villages of the Pomeranian region.
One of the earliest documented individuals with the surname POSKA was Jan POSKA, a landowner and farmer who lived in the village of Gniewino, near the city of Gdańsk, in the late 1500s. Records show that he was born around 1560 and died sometime in the early 1600s.
The name POSKA is believed to have derived from an old Slavic word meaning "small" or "little," potentially referring to someone of diminutive stature or a younger sibling. It may also have been associated with a specific place name or geographic location, as many surnames of this era were derived from the names of towns, villages, or other landmarks.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the POSKA name began to spread across other parts of Eastern Europe, with records showing families with this surname residing in areas of present-day Belarus, Lithuania, and parts of Russia. One notable figure was Andrzej POSKA, a merchant and trader from the town of Lidzbark Warmiński, who lived from 1635 to 1704.
In the 19th century, as emigration from Eastern Europe increased, the POSKA surname started to appear in various immigration records and passenger lists of individuals traveling to other parts of the world, particularly North America and Western Europe. One such individual was Franciszek POSKA, a Polish immigrant who settled in Chicago, Illinois, in the late 1800s and went on to establish a successful bakery business.
Another notable figure with the POSKA surname was Halina POSKA, a Polish actress and singer who gained prominence in the early 20th century. Born in 1892 in Warsaw, she had a successful career on stage and in films until her death in 1958.
Throughout the centuries, the POSKA surname has been recorded with various spelling variations, such as POSKO, POSZKA, and POSZKO, reflecting regional dialects and differences in record-keeping practices. However, the core root of the name has remained consistent, tracing its origins back to the Slavic regions of Eastern Europe.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Poska
Among Census respondents with the surname Poska, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Poska 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 Poska surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.1% · 115
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Poska
Poska 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
#137,327
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
+8 bearers (+7.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,490 places
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
-6 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,701 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #135,837 | 114 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #137,327 | 122 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+7.0%) | Down 1,490 places |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 7,701 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 Poska 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 | #137,327 | #145,028 | -5.6% |
| Count | 122 | 116 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Poska bearers went from 122 to 116 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 7,701 positions in the national ranking, going from #137,327 to #145,028.
FAQ
Poska surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Poska?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Poska. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Poska?
Poska 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 Poska. 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 Poska.
Has Poska become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Poska went from 122 recorded bearers to 116. That is a decrease of 6 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #137,327 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Poska?
Among Census respondents with the surname Poska, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (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 Poska in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.1% (115 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Poska appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.1%), Hispanic (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 Poska (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 Poska mean?
A surname derived from a Polish word meaning a small village or settlement. 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 Poska (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 Americans have the surname Poska?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.