Explore the Family Name Palko
The meaning of Palko
1. Hungarian (Palkó): from a pet form of the personal name Pál, Hungarian form of Paul. 2. Slovak (also Paľko), Ukrainian, Rusyn, Croatian, and Serbian: from a pet form of the personal names Pavol (Slovak) and Pavlo (Ukrainian and Rusyn), equivalents of Paul, or from the cognate personal name Palko of Hungarian origin (see 1 above). At least in Croatia the surname itself is in part of Hungarian origin. 3. Slovenian: probably a nickname derived from paliti ‘to burn (land for cultivation), to char’, or, alternatively, a derivative of the personal name Pavel (see Paul, compare above).
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Palko in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Palko saw a decrease in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Palko was ranked 15,691st most popular surname, but by 2010 it had dropped to 17,651st. This represents a decline of approximately 12.49%. The actual count of people with the Palko surname also decreased from 1,710 in 2000 to 1,592 in 2010, a reduction of 6.9%. Accordingly, for every 100,000 people, there were 0.63 named Palko in 2000, which fell to 0.54 per 100,000 in 2010.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #15,691 | #17,651 | -12.49% |
| Count | 1,710 | 1,592 | -6.9% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.63 | 0.54 | -14.29% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Palko
Regarding its ethnic identity distribution, the Decennial U.S. Census reveals that in 2000, the majority of those bearing the surname Palko identified as White (96.43%), followed by those who identified as having two or more races (1.29%). Small percentages identified as Asian/Pacific Islander (0.41%), Hispanic (1.23%), Black (0.35%), and American Indian and Alaskan Native (0.29%). By 2010, the percentage of people with the Palko surname who identify as White slightly decreased to 95.23%, while the percentages for Asian/Pacific Islander and those with two or more races also saw minor reductions. Notably, the percentages of people identifying as Hispanic, Black, and American Indian and Alaskan Native all increased, with the largest increase seen in the Hispanic category (73.98%).
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 96.43% | 95.23% | -1.24% |
| Hispanic | 1.23% | 2.14% | 73.98% |
| Two or More Races | 1.29% | 1.26% | -2.33% |
| Black | 0.35% | 0.57% | 62.86% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.29% | 0.44% | 51.72% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.41% | 0.38% | -7.32% |