Pulver last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Pulver

Derived from the German word for "powder," likely referring to an occupation involving gunpowder or grinding grain into flour.

Pulver, 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 Pulver surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pulver in America

Pulver is the 10125th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pulver surname appeared 3,183 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 Pulver.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pulver 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 10125 9531 6.04%
Count 3,183 3,128 1.74%
Proportion per 100k 1.08 1.16 -7.14%

The history of the last name Pulver

The surname Pulver has its origins in Germany, tracing back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Middle High German word "pulver," which means "powder" or "dust." Originally, it was likely an occupational name for someone who worked with gunpowder or was involved in powder manufacturing.

The earliest recorded instances of the Pulver name can be found in various German regions, such as Bavaria and Saxony. Some of the earliest spellings include Pulver, Pulfer, and Pulwer. It is believed that the name was first introduced to North America in the 17th century by German immigrants.

One of the earliest known bearers of the Pulver name was Hans Pulver, a German gunsmith who lived in Augsburg in the late 16th century. Another notable figure was Johann Pulver, a German painter and engraver who lived in Nuremberg in the 17th century.

In the 18th century, Johannes Pulver (1733-1805) was a German theologian and author who wrote several religious works. During the same period, Wilhelm Pulver (1752-1826) was a German military officer who served in the Prussian army.

In the 19th century, one of the most prominent individuals with the Pulver surname was Johann Jakob Pulver (1801-1877), a Swiss politician and writer who served as the president of the Swiss Federal Council in 1854.

Another notable figure was Albert Pulver (1852-1923), a German industrialist and inventor who helped develop the first practical pneumatic tire for bicycles and automobiles. He founded the Pulver Tire Company in Germany in the late 19th century.

Other historical figures with the Pulver surname include Hermann Pulver (1863-1945), a German mathematician known for his contributions to number theory, and Fritz Pulver (1879-1950), a Swiss artist and sculptor who worked in a variety of mediums.

While the Pulver name has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including North America, where it was brought by German immigrants in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pulver

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

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 Pulver was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 94.06% 2,994
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.22% 7
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.91% 29
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.38% 12
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.13% 36
Hispanic Origin 3.30% 105

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 Pulver has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 94.06% 95.33% -1.34%
Black 0.22% 0.22% 0.00%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.91% 0.64% 34.84%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.38% 0.35% 8.22%
Two or More Races 1.13% 1.37% -19.20%
Hispanic 3.30% 2.08% 45.35%

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

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

Reference this page

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"Pulver last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/pulver-surname-popularity/.

"Pulver last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/pulver-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Pulver last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/pulver-surname-popularity/.

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