Explore the Family Name Zemla

The meaning of Zemla

1. Polish (mainly Zemła, Żemła); Czech and Slovak (Žemla): from Old Polish and Polish dialect zemła, żemła, Czech žemle, Slovak žemľa ‘roll, bun’, probably applied as a nickname or a metonymic occupational name for a baker. 2. Americanized form of Slovenian Žemlja: cognate of 1 above, from žemlja ‘roll, bun’.

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

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

The surname Zemla has seen a slight increase in its popularity in the United States, based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census. In 2000, Zemla was ranked as the 67,936th most common surname, with 271 individuals carrying this name. By 2010, the rank had slightly improved to the 67,747th position, with a total of 291 individuals identifying with this surname. This represents a growth rate of approximately 7.38%, indicating that the surname Zemla is becoming somewhat more prevalent.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#67,936	#67,747	0.28%
Count	271	291	7.38%
Proportion per 100k	0.1	0.1	0%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Zemla

Regarding ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals some changes between 2000 and 2010. The majority of individuals with the surname Zemla identified as White, accounting for 95.2% in 2000 and slightly decreasing to 93.81% in 2010. There was also a notable rise in individuals who identify with two or more races, increasing from 1.85% to 3.09%. Meanwhile, people identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander saw a decrease from 2.21% to 1.72%. Notably, there were no cases of individuals with the Zemla surname identifying as Hispanic, Black, or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either census year.

	2000	2010	Change
White	95.2%	93.81%	-1.46%
Two or More Races	1.85%	3.09%	67.03%
Asian/Pacific Islander	2.21%	1.72%	-22.17%
Hispanic	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%