The Palka surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 1,190 people carried this name — #21,842 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 250,000 people counted. That is up 2% from 1,169 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Palka surname
From pálka (“cattail”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Pálka» (Slovak), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Poland’s population register
12,503 people named Palka have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 13,879 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in all 16 of Poland’s voivodeships, most of all in Lesser Poland.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 142 people named Palka.
43 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 24 départements, most often Pas-de-Calais.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
27 people named Palka live in Switzerland.
They live in 5 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in St. Gallen.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In the Nordic population registers
59 people named Palka is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
Who carried it
People named Palka,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Antoni Palka 1903–
-
Henryk Palka 1908–1981 · politician
-
Ludvík Pálka 1912–
-
Hermann Palka 1921–2004 · bobsledder
-
Ondrej Palka 1925–1945
-
Bernard František Palka 1927–2015 · presbyter
Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Palka.
- Pale 366 · U.S. census
- Palenzuela 476 · U.S. census
- Palermo 8,165 · U.S. census
- Paletta 537 · U.S. census
- Palin 898 · U.S. census
- Palis 230 · U.S. census
- Palla 662 · U.S. census
- Palladino 4,115 · U.S. census
- Pallardy 209 · U.S. census
- Pallares 1,755 · U.S. census
- Pallas 947 · U.S. census
- Pallin 171 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Palka is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.