Explore the Family Name Pulver

The meaning of Pulver

1. German, Swiss German, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle High German pulver ‘ash, dust’ (of Latin origin), German Pulver ‘powder’; a metonymic occupational name for an apothecary or herbalist who dispensed various types of medicinal powder. From the 15th century it may alternatively have denoted a manufacturer of gunpowder. 2. Possibly also a shortened form of Flemish Van Pulver: habitational name for someone from a place called Pulver (meaning ‘dust’; compare 1 above), for example in Wormhout in West Flanders.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Pulver has seen a slight decrease in popularity from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, it was ranked 9,531 in terms of most common surnames, and by 2010 it had dropped to rank 10,125, showing a decrease of approximately 6.23%. However, the count of individuals with this surname rose slightly from 3,128 in 2000 to 3,183 in 2010, reflecting a marginal increase of 1.76%. Proportionally, within every 100,000 people, the surname Pulver decreased from 1.16 in 2000 to 1.08 in 2010, denoting a drop of around 6.9%.

20002010Change
Rank#9,531#10,125-6.23%
Count3,1283,1831.76%
Proportion per 100k1.161.08-6.9%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Pulver

On the front of ethnic identity, as per the Decennial U.S. Census data, the majority of individuals with the surname Pulver identified as White, although there was a minor dip from 95.33% in 2000 to 94.06% in 2010. The Hispanic proportion saw considerable growth, increasing by 58.65% from 2.08% in 2000 to 3.30% in 2010. The Asian/Pacific Islander category also saw a notable rise, with an increase of 42.19%, moving from 0.64% in 2000 to 0.91% in 2010. The percentage of individuals who identified as belonging to two or more races fell by 17.52%, while those identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native grew by 8.57%. The Black category remained stable at 0.22% for both census years.

20002010Change
White95.33%94.06%-1.33%
Hispanic2.08%3.3%58.65%
Two or More Races1.37%1.13%-17.52%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.64%0.91%42.19%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.35%0.38%8.57%
Black0.22%0.22%0%

Pulver ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Pulver is British & Irish, which comprises 40.4% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (32.7%) and Ashkenazi Jewish (7.0%). Additional ancestries include Eastern European, Italian, Scandinavian, Spanish & Portuguese, and Indigenous American.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
British & Irish40.4%
French & German32.7%
Ashkenazi Jewish7.0%
Other19.9%
Pulver

Possible origins of the surname Pulver

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Pulver have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Merseyside, United Kingdom87.20%
Greater Manchester, United Kingdom87.20%
Greater London, United Kingdom87.20%
West Midlands, United Kingdom87.20%
Glasgow City, United Kingdom86.00%

What Pulver haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Pulver is O-F2415, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup O-F2415 is descended from haplogroup O-M1359. Other common haplogroups include E-M183 and O-F2859, which are predominantly found among people with European and East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Pulver surname are: H1, J1c, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

pulverPaternal Haplogroup Origins O-M1359
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to the Cham

One of the many populations harboring members of haplogroup O1b1a1a1a1 is the Cham ethnic group, a group of people who speak Austronesian languages in Mainland Southeast Asia. Austronesian languages make up a language family that is extremely large and widespread, comprising over 350 million people on islands such as Madagascar, Easter Island, and many others. However, Austronesian languages are less common on mainland Asia, with a notable exception being the Chamic language. Research suggests that ancestors of the Cham people migrated from Southeast Asian islands to the mainland around the year 500 BCE, and that early Cham populations quickly began mixing with indigenous southern Vietnamese populations. As a result, the Chamic language now has words that were borrowed from languages spoken by indigenous Vietnamese people. It is likely that an ancestral Kinh population was one of the populations that mixed with the Cham people shortly after their migration to mainland Asia.

Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette

Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Pulver have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Pulver

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Pulver" Surname 35.5%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Pulver

Cheek Dimples

Small indentations that appear on the cheeks when a person smiles.

"Pulver" Surname 50.0%

23andMe Users 37.6%

Habits

Pulver

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Pulver" Surname 34.1%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Pulver

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Pulver" Surname 22.9%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Pulver?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Pulver are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

British & Irish 62.1%

23andMe Users 57.2%