2000
#130,443
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Pusz
A surname of Polish origin, referring to someone who lived in or near a large forest.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Pusz. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pusz 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
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Pusz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pusz, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pusz
The surname PUSZ is believed to have originated in Poland, where it first appeared in historical records dating back to the 15th century. It is derived from the Polish word "puszcza," which means "wilderness" or "forest," suggesting that the name may have been given to someone who lived near or worked in a forested area.
PUSZ was a relatively common name in various regions of Poland, particularly in the central and eastern parts of the country. Some of the earliest written records mentioning individuals with this surname can be found in old parish registers and land ownership documents from the late medieval and early modern periods.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name PUSZ appears in a legal document from the town of Sandomierz, dated 1487, which mentions a certain "Jan Pusz" as a witness to a property transaction. Another notable early reference is found in the Metryka Koronna (Crown Metrica), an official record book of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which includes an entry from 1568 listing a "Piotr Pusz" as a landowner in the Lublin region.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the PUSZ surname continued to be present in various parts of Poland, with several individuals bearing this name achieving some degree of prominence. For example, Marcin Pusz (1620-1688) was a prominent Catholic priest and theologian who served as the rector of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow.
Another notable figure was Wojciech Pusz (1732-1801), a Polish nobleman and military officer who fought in the Kościuszko Uprising against Russian forces in the late 18th century. His son, Jakub Pusz (1768-1832), followed in his footsteps and also had a distinguished military career, rising to the rank of general in the Polish Army during the Napoleonic Wars.
In the 19th century, the PUSZ surname was particularly prevalent in the Lublin region of eastern Poland, where several villages and hamlets bore variations of the name, such as Puszno, Puszczyków, and Puszcza. One significant individual from this era was Katarzyna Pusz (1823-1898), a renowned folk artist and embroiderer whose intricate needlework pieces are now housed in various museums across Poland.
As Polish immigrants began to settle in other parts of Europe and the Americas in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the PUSZ surname spread to new regions, although it remained relatively uncommon outside of Poland itself. Nonetheless, the name has persisted throughout the centuries, with individuals bearing this surname continuing to make their mark in various fields, from academia to the arts.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pusz
Among Census respondents with the surname Pusz, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Pusz 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 Pusz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.7% · 110
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 5
- Two or more races2.5% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pusz
Pusz 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
#149,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-10 bearers (-8.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 18,952 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
+10 bearers (+9.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 7,346 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #130,443 | 120 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #149,395 | 110 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-8.3%) | Down 18,952 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | +10 bearers (+9.1%) | Up 7,346 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 Pusz 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 | #149,395 | #142,049 | 4.9% |
| Count | 110 | 120 | 9.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pusz bearers went from 110 to 120 (+9.1% change). The surname moved up 7,346 positions in the national ranking, going from #149,395 to #142,049.
FAQ
Pusz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pusz?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Pusz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Pusz?
Pusz ranks #142,049 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 120 people with the surname Pusz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), 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 Pusz.
Has Pusz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pusz went from 110 recorded bearers to 120. That is an increase of 10 (+9.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #149,395 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Pusz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pusz, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Pusz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pusz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.7%), Hispanic (4.2%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Pusz (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 Pusz mean?
A surname of Polish origin, referring to someone who lived in or near a large forest. 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 Pusz (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 Pusz?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.