Poles

Attested across 3 languages in the etymology graph.

Poles is also recorded as 3 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Czech surname6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Czechia, Slovakia, United States, Poland

  Languages: Czech, Polish, Slovak

  Also written Poleš, Poleś

• a separate name2 spellings in the group

  Also written Polēs

• Croatian surname6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Croatia, Slovenia

  Languages: Croatian, Slovenian

  Also written Poleš

40 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Poles is also recorded in 3 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In Galician, second-person singular present indicative of pulir

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Indonesian, polish: a substance used to polish

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Asturian, for the, by the

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

• Leslie Poles Hartleyb. 1895GBBritish novelist and short story writer (1895–1972)
• Major Polesb. 1902joined the Northern Rhodesia Game and Tsetse Control Department - now the National Parks and Wildlife Service, Zambia - and was given charge of a vast area centred on Mpika, which included the Luangwa Valley (1902–1990)
• Eva Polesb. 1971ITItalian singer
• Rok Polesb. 1973SISlovenian architect
• Peter Polesb. 1978SISlovenian television personality
• Tanja PolesSIresearcher

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Register rows as of the 2026-10-09 data build.

How do you pronounce Poles?

It depends on the language: in Spanish /polɛs/; in Portuguese /puleʃ/. Transcriptions are machine-generated except where a dictionary is named.

What does the name Poles mean?

Recorded meaning: variante dialetal setentrional, redução de Polese

In which country does Poles have the most bearers?

In Brazil, the national register counted about 931 people named Poles, more than in any other country we hold.

Where is Poles most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Poles is densest in Slovenia — about 1 in 23 thousand people — even though Brazil holds more of our records for it.

How common is the name Poles?

In Brazil, the national register counted 931 people named Poles, about 1 in 227 thousand residents.