2000
#47,389
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 421
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.16
Very Rare Last name
Bakula
A surname derived from the Ukrainian word "bakul" meaning "barrel maker" or "cooper".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 533 Americans carry the last name Bakula. That puts it at #48,977 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.16 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 643,066 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bakula surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
533
1 in 643,066
Census rank
#48,977
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
465
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 465 bearers of the surname Bakula in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.16 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 48977th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bakula, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (1.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bakula
The surname Bakula is of Polish origin and can be traced back to the late 18th century. It is derived from the Polish word "bakula," which means "shepherd's crook" or "staff." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who worked as a shepherd or used a staff as part of their profession.
The earliest recorded instance of the Bakula surname can be found in the parish records of the village of Brzeźnica, located in the Masovian Voivodeship of central Poland. In these records, a man named Jan Bakula was listed as a resident in the year 1792.
Another early mention of the Bakula name appears in the cadastral records of the town of Opoczno, situated in the Łódź Voivodeship of central Poland. These records, dating back to 1810, include several families with the surname Bakula, indicating that the name was already well-established in the region at that time.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the Bakula surname was Józef Bakula, a Polish soldier who fought in the November Uprising against Russian imperial rule in 1830-1831. He was born in the village of Wola Życińska in 1803 and died in 1863.
Another notable figure was Stanisław Bakula (1870-1942), a Polish architect who designed several important buildings in the city of Kraków, including the Church of St. Andrew Bobola and the Church of St. Joseph.
In the 20th century, one of the most famous individuals with the Bakula surname was the American actor Scott Bakula, best known for his roles in the television series "Quantum Leap" and "Star Trek: Enterprise." He was born in 1954 in St. Louis, Missouri, but his family's roots can be traced back to Poland.
Other notable individuals with the Bakula surname include Mieczysław Bakula (1905-1977), a Polish painter and graphic artist known for his landscapes and portraits, and Tadeusz Bakula (1908-1987), a Polish composer and conductor who wrote several orchestral works and film scores.
While the Bakula surname is most commonly associated with Poland, it has also been found in other parts of Eastern Europe, such as Ukraine and Belarus, likely due to migration patterns and historical borders.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bakula
Among Census respondents with the surname Bakula, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (1.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Bakula bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Bakula surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.9% · 432
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 18
- Two or more races1.5% · 7
- Black or African American1.3% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bakula
Bakula appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#46,725
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 455
+34 bearers (+8.1%)
Per 100,000 0.15
Rank movement Up 664 places
2020
#48,977
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 465
+10 bearers (+2.2%)
Per 100,000 0.16
Rank movement Down 2,252 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #47,389 | 421 | 0.16 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #46,725 | 455 | 0.15 | +34 bearers (+8.1%) | Up 664 places |
| 2020 | #48,977 | 465 | 0.16 | +10 bearers (+2.2%) | Down 2,252 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Bakula surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #46,725 | #48,977 | -4.8% |
| Count | 455 | 465 | 2.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.15 | 0.16 | 3.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bakula bearers went from 455 to 465 (+2.2% change). The surname moved down 2,252 positions in the national ranking, going from #46,725 to #48,977.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Bakula
FAQ
Bakula surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bakula?
Name Census estimates that about 533 living Americans carry the surname Bakula. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 643,066 residents.
How common is Bakula?
Bakula ranks #48,977 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.16 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 465 people with the surname Bakula. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (533), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.16 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.16 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Bakula.
Has Bakula become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bakula went from 455 recorded bearers to 465. That is an increase of 10 (+2.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #46,725 to #48,977.
What does the Census say about the background of Bakula?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bakula, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (1.5%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Bakula in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.9% (432 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bakula appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.9%), Hispanic (3.9%), Two or More Races (1.5%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Bakula (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Bakula mean?
A surname derived from the Ukrainian word "bakul" meaning "barrel maker" or "cooper". The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Bakula (0.16 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Bakula?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.