Explore the Family Name Poehlein

The meaning of Poehlein

German: probably a variant of Pohley, a habitational name in Silesia for someone from a place called Poley (also Pohley), from Slavic polan ‘field dweller’. Misinterpretation of the etymology of the surname makes it sound like a German name ending with the diminutive suffix -lein.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Poehlein in the United States?

The Poehlein surname had a notable increase in popularity between the 2000 and 2010 Decennial U.S. Census. In 2000, the name was ranked as the 79,394th most common surname, but moved up to the 71,478th position by 2010, which represents a rise of approximately 9.97%. The count of people with this surname also experienced an uptick from 223 in 2000 to 273 in 2010, indicating an increase of 22.42%. In terms of proportion per 100,000 people, the Poehlein surname saw a growth of around 12.5%, moving from 0.08 in 2000 to 0.09 in 2010.

20002010Change
Rank#79,394#71,4789.97%
Count22327322.42%
Proportion per 100k0.080.0912.5%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Poehlein

Looking at ethnic identity, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census reveals that the majority of individuals with the Poehlein surname identified as White in both 2000 and 2010. Specifically, in 2000, about 98.21% of Poehleins identified as White, a figure that slightly decreased to 95.97% by 2010. Interestingly, while there were no recorded instances of individuals with this surname identifying as having two or more races in 2000, by 2010, 2.56% of Poehleins did so. There were no significant changes for other ethnic identities such as Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, Black, and American Indian and Alaskan Native, with percentages remaining essentially at zero during this time period.

20002010Change
White98.21%95.97%-2.28%
Two or More Races0%2.56%0%
Asian/Pacific Islander0%0%0%
Hispanic0%0%0%
Black0%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%