Explore the Family Name Pledger
The meaning of Pledger
1. English (southeastern): from Middle English pleggere ‘one who stands bail in a lawsuit’ (Anglo-Norman French pleger ‘sponsor, guarantor’); see Pledge. 2. In some cases also an Americanized form of German Pletscher.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Pledger in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Pledger saw a slight decrease in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, the surname was ranked 10,317th in popularity, but by 2010 it had slipped slightly to 10,649th. Despite this drop in rank, the actual count of people with the Pledger surname increased during this period. There were 2,861 individuals with the name in 2000 and 3,004 in 2010, representing a growth of 5%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #10,317 | #10,649 | -3.22% |
| Count | 2,861 | 3,004 | 5% |
| Proportion per 100k | 1.06 | 1.02 | -3.77% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Pledger
Regarding ethnicity, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census shows some interesting shifts within the population that carries the Pledger surname. The most significant change occurred within the Asian/Pacific Islander group, which saw a rise of over 220% from 2000 to 2010. The group identifying as two or more races also grew significantly, with an increase of just over 62%. The White and Black groups remained the largest ethnic identities for the Pledger surname, but both showed minor changes: the percentage of Whites decreased by almost 4%, while the Black group saw a small growth of about 3%. The proportion of Hispanics within the Pledger surname group also rose by almost 37%, while the American Indian and Alaskan Native group experienced a decline of nearly 29%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 67.53% | 64.91% | -3.88% |
| Black | 29.19% | 30.19% | 3.43% |
| Two or More Races | 1.29% | 2.1% | 62.79% |
| Hispanic | 1.19% | 1.63% | 36.97% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.24% | 0.77% | 220.83% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.56% | 0.4% | -28.57% |