2000
#13,372
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,089
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.77
Rare Last name
Puls
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) occupational surname denoting someone who measured or weighed goods, derived from German "Puls".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,307 Americans carry the last name Puls. That puts it at #14,307 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.67 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 148,571 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Puls 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
2.3K
1 in 148,571
Census rank
#14,307
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,012 bearers of the surname Puls in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.67 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14307th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Puls, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Puls
The surname Puls originates from the German language and can be traced back to the 13th century in the region of Bavaria, Germany. The name is derived from the Middle High German word "pulse," which means "pulse" or "heartbeat." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a descriptive nickname to someone with a particularly strong or noticeable pulse.
In the 15th century, the name Puls appeared in various historical records and documents in Bavaria, such as legal contracts, property deeds, and town registers. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the town of Ingolstadt, where a merchant named Hans Puls was mentioned in a trade agreement dated 1462.
The Puls name was also present in the neighboring regions of Saxony and Thuringia during the 16th and 17th centuries. In the town of Zwickau, Saxony, a prominent family of brewers with the surname Puls operated a successful business from the late 1500s to the mid-1700s.
One notable individual with the surname Puls was Johann Christoph Puls (1689-1754), a German composer and organist who served as the court organist for the Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels. His compositions, particularly his organ works, were highly regarded during his lifetime and contributed to the development of the German Baroque style.
Another historical figure bearing the Puls name was Friedrich Puls (1786-1842), a German jurist and politician who served as a member of the Prussian National Assembly during the Revolutions of 1848. He was a vocal advocate for democratic reforms and played a significant role in shaping the political landscape of his time.
In the 19th century, the Puls surname gained recognition in the field of medicine with the renowned physician and pathologist Richard Puls (1826-1888). He made significant contributions to the study of diseases of the circulatory system and is remembered for his groundbreaking work on the diagnosis and treatment of heart conditions.
While the Puls name has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to migration and immigration. Families with this surname can now be found in various countries, including the United States, Canada, and Australia, among others.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Puls
Among Census respondents with the surname Puls, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Puls 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 Puls surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.8% · 1,868
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 68
- Two or more races2.1% · 43
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 11
- Black or African American0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Puls
Puls 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
#14,264
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,101
+12 bearers (+0.6%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Down 892 places
2020
#14,307
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,012
-89 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Down 43 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,372 | 2,089 | 0.77 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,264 | 2,101 | 0.71 | +12 bearers (+0.6%) | Down 892 places |
| 2020 | #14,307 | 2,012 | 0.67 | -89 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 43 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 Puls 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 | #14,264 | #14,307 | -0.3% |
| Count | 2,101 | 2,012 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.71 | 0.67 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Puls bearers went from 2,101 to 2,012 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 43 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,264 to #14,307.
FAQ
Puls surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Puls?
Name Census estimates that about 2,307 living Americans carry the surname Puls. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 148,571 residents.
How common is Puls?
Puls ranks #14,307 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.67 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,012 people with the surname Puls. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,307), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.67 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.67 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Puls.
Has Puls become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Puls went from 2,101 recorded bearers to 2,012. That is a decrease of 89 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,264 to #14,307.
What does the Census say about the background of Puls?
Among Census respondents with the surname Puls, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Puls in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.8% (1,868 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Puls appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.8%), Hispanic (3.4%), Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Puls (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 Puls mean?
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) occupational surname denoting someone who measured or weighed goods, derived from German "Puls". 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 Puls (0.67 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 surname Puls?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.