2000
#133,114
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Balcerek
A Polish surname derived from the word "balcerek" meaning a type of wool jacket or coat.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 139 Americans carry the last name Balcerek. That puts it at #141,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,465,859 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Balcerek 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
139
1 in 2,465,859
Census rank
#141,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
121
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 121 bearers of the surname Balcerek in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 141309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Balcerek, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (0.8%) and Two or More Races (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Balcerek
The surname Balcerek has its origins in Poland, tracing back to the 16th century. It is a locational name derived from the town of Balcerek, located in the Wielkopolskie region of western Poland. The name itself is a diminutive form of the Polish word "balka," meaning a beam or log, suggesting that the original bearers may have been associated with timber or carpentry trades.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the parish records of the village of Balcerek, dating back to the late 1500s. These records document various individuals with the surname, indicating its establishment as a hereditary name in the region.
During the 17th century, the Balcerek name appears in various documents and records throughout the Wielkopolskie region, such as land deeds, tax rolls, and court proceedings. This suggests that the family had established itself as a prominent part of the local community.
In the 18th century, the name gained wider recognition with the birth of Jan Balcerek (1719-1787), a renowned Polish architect and engineer. He was responsible for designing several notable buildings and structures in Warsaw, including the Royal Castle and the Church of the Holy Cross.
Another notable figure with the Balcerek surname was Tadeusz Balcerek (1854-1919), a Polish painter and art educator. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow and later became a professor at the same institution, where he taught and influenced many aspiring artists.
In the 20th century, the Balcerek name gained international recognition through the work of Zdzisław Balcerek (1920-2005), a Polish-born American architect and urban planner. He was known for his innovative designs and contributions to the field of sustainable urban development.
Kazimierz Balcerek (1947-2022) was a renowned Polish historian and author, specializing in the history of the Polish nobility and gentry. His extensive research and publications shed light on the cultural and social aspects of Poland's aristocratic past.
Throughout its history, the Balcerek surname has also been associated with various place names and spellings, such as Balcerek-Wielki (Great Balcerek) and Balcerek-Mały (Little Balcerek), reflecting the geographic origins of different branches of the family.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Balcerek
Among Census respondents with the surname Balcerek, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (0.8%) and Two or More Races (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Balcerek 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 Balcerek surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.3% · 119
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Balcerek
Balcerek 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
#140,157
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
+2 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,043 places
2020
#141,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+2 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,152 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #133,114 | 117 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #140,157 | 119 | 0.04 | +2 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 7,043 places |
| 2020 | #141,309 | 121 | 0.04 | +2 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 1,152 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 Balcerek 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 | #140,157 | #141,309 | -0.8% |
| Count | 119 | 121 | 1.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 1.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Balcerek bearers went from 119 to 121 (+1.7% change). The surname moved down 1,152 positions in the national ranking, going from #140,157 to #141,309.
FAQ
Balcerek surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Balcerek?
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the surname Balcerek. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,465,859 residents.
How common is Balcerek?
Balcerek ranks #141,309 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 121 people with the surname Balcerek. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (139), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Balcerek.
Has Balcerek become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Balcerek went from 119 recorded bearers to 121. That is an increase of 2 (+1.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #140,157 to #141,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Balcerek?
Among Census respondents with the surname Balcerek, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (0.8%) and Two or More Races (0.8%). 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 Balcerek in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.3% (119 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Balcerek appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.3%), American Indian/Alaska Native (0.8%), Two or More Races (0.8%). 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 Balcerek (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 Balcerek mean?
A Polish surname derived from the word "balcerek" meaning a type of wool jacket or coat. 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 Balcerek (0.04 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 common is the surname Balcerek?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Balcerek at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.