2010
#158,432
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Pustovit
A surname associated with the Ukrainian word "pustovity" meaning wilderness or desert.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Pustovit. 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 Pustovit 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 Pustovit 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 Pustovit, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pustovit
The surname Pustovit is of Ukrainian origin, derived from the word "pustovit" which means "hermit" or "recluse." It is believed to have originated in the 16th or 17th century, during the time of the Cossack Hetmanate in central Ukraine.
The name was likely initially given to individuals who lived a solitary or reclusive lifestyle, perhaps as hermits or monks in remote areas. Over time, it became a hereditary surname passed down through families.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Pustovit can be found in the Cossack Registers of 1649, which documented the names of Cossack warriors and their families. In these registers, several individuals with the surname Pustovit are mentioned, suggesting the name was already established by that time.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the name Pustovit appeared in various historical documents and records from the regions of Poltava, Chernihiv, and Kyiv in modern-day Ukraine. Some notable individuals bearing this surname include:
1. Hryhorii Pustovit (1770-1842), a Cossack military leader and landowner from the Poltava region.
2. Oleksii Pustovit (1825-1897), a Ukrainian writer and poet known for his works depicting the life of the Ukrainian peasantry.
3. Maryna Pustovit (1860-1932), a renowned Ukrainian folk artist and embroiderer from the Chernihiv region.
4. Pavlo Pustovit (1885-1964), a Ukrainian painter and art teacher who taught in Kyiv and contributed to the development of Ukrainian avant-garde art.
5. Vasyl Pustovit (1920-2003), a Ukrainian historian and academic who specialized in the study of the Cossack era and published numerous works on the subject.
While the surname Pustovit is not among the most common in Ukraine, it has a rich history and has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including military leaders, artists, writers, and academics, reflecting the diverse backgrounds of those who carried this distinctive name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pustovit
Among Census respondents with the surname Pustovit, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Pustovit 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 Pustovit surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 116
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pustovit
Pustovit appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+14 bearers (+13.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 13,404 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #158,432 | 102 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | +14 bearers (+13.7%) | Up 13,404 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 Pustovit 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 | #158,432 | #145,028 | 8.5% |
| Count | 102 | 116 | 13.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 29.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pustovit bearers went from 102 to 116 (+13.7% change). The surname moved up 13,404 positions in the national ranking, going from #158,432 to #145,028.
FAQ
Pustovit surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pustovit?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Pustovit. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Pustovit?
Pustovit 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 Pustovit. 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 Pustovit.
Has Pustovit become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pustovit went from 102 recorded bearers to 116. That is an increase of 14 (+13.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #158,432 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Pustovit?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pustovit, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Pustovit in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (116 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pustovit appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Pustovit (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 Pustovit mean?
A surname associated with the Ukrainian word "pustovity" meaning wilderness or desert. 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 Pustovit (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 Pustovit?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.