Explore the Family Name Pech
The meaning of Pech
1. Czech and Slovak; Sorbian (Pěch and P’ech): from a pet form of the personal name Petr (Czech), Pětš (Lower Sorbian), and Peter (Slovak). This is also a Germanized form of the Upper Sorbian cognate Pjech. 2. German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle High German pech (German Pech) ‘pitch, tar’, presumably a nickname for someone with exceptionally dark skin or hair, or a metonymic occupational name for someone who prepared, sold, or used pitch. This may in part also be the origin of a homonymic Polish, Czech, and Slovak surname (compare above and below). 3. Jewish (Ashkenazic), Polish, Czech, and Slovak: nickname from German Pech or from the West Slavic loanword pech ‘bad luck’. Such is a figurative sense of words with the original meaning ‘pitch, tar’ in some Slavic languages, too (compare Smola). 4. Catalan: nickname from a variant of pec ‘simple, naive’. 5. Amerindian (Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize): Mayan name, from pech ‘tick’ (a mite), and possibly also from a homonymous word meaning ‘bastard’. Some characteristic forenames: Spanish Carlos, Jose, Manuel, Alvaro, Diego, Edelmira, Emilio, Francisco, Gilberto, Jorge, Jose Angel. German Gerhard, Hans, Ilse, Lutz, Manfred, Wolf.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Pech in the United States?
The surname Pech saw a rise in popularity between 2000 and 2010, according to data from the Decennial U.S. Census. In 2000, Pech ranked 16,176 in terms of commonality among surnames but moved up to 15,579 by 2010, reflecting a 3.69% increase. The number of individuals bearing the Pech surname also rose during this period, from 1,643 to 1,877, marking an impressive 14.24% growth. Despite this significant increment, the proportion per 100k only slightly enhanced from 0.61 to 0.64, indicating a modest 4.92% change.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #16,176 | #15,579 | 3.69% |
| Count | 1,643 | 1,877 | 14.24% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.61 | 0.64 | 4.92% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Pech
In terms of ethnic identity, the Pech surname demonstrated fascinating shifts between 2000 and 2010, as revealed by the Decennial U.S. Census data. While there was a 7.46% decrease in the Asian/Pacific Islander category, the Hispanic population with this surname showed a considerable rise of 39.67%, jumping from 31.89% to 44.54%. Conversely, the White population saw a notable drop of 26.66%, decreasing from 37.92% to 27.81%. Meanwhile, the Black population experienced a remarkable surge of 112.33%, albeit from a small base of 0.73% to 1.55%. Data for those identifying as two or more races or American Indian and Alaskan Native were suppressed for privacy in the 2010 census.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hispanic | 31.89% | 44.54% | 39.67% |
| White | 37.92% | 27.81% | -26.66% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 26.54% | 24.56% | -7.46% |
| Black | 0.73% | 1.55% | 112.33% |
| Two or More Races | 2.37% | 0% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.55% | 0% | 0% |