Find out how popular the last name Bielski is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Bielski.

Bielski, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Bielski surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bielski in America

Bielski is the 19489th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bielski surname appeared 1,386 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Bielski.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bielski to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Bielski

The surname Bielski originates from Poland and is believed to have emerged in the 15th century. It is derived from the Polish word "bielski," which means "white" or "pale." This could suggest that the name was initially given as a descriptive nickname to someone with pale or fair complexion.

The earliest known record of the name Bielski can be traced back to the Polish town of Bielsk Podlaski, located in the eastern part of the country. The town's name is derived from the Slavic word "biel," meaning "white," which further supports the theory that the surname Bielski is related to the color white or pale appearance.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have carried the surname Bielski. One of the most famous was Tuvia Bielski, a Polish Jew who led a group of Jewish partisans during World War II. He was born in 1906 and died in 1987. The Bielski partisans successfully established a hidden camp in the Naliboki Forest, providing refuge for Jews fleeing persecution by the Nazis.

Another prominent figure was Zygmunt Bielski, a 16th-century Polish composer and organist. He was active in the late Renaissance period and is known for his contributions to the development of early Polish music. Unfortunately, his exact birth and death dates are unknown.

In the 19th century, Józef Bielski (1805-1876) was a Polish-born American Catholic priest and journalist. He played a significant role in the Polish-American community, founding the first Polish newspaper in the United States, "Gazeta Polska Katolicka" (The Polish Catholic Gazette).

The Bielski surname can also be found in other variations, such as Bielsky or Bielskiy, which are more common spellings in Russia and other Eastern European countries. One notable figure with this spelling is Mikhail Mikhailovich Bielskiy (1778-1846), a Russian military officer and governor of Irkutsk.

Another variation, Bielecki, is also encountered in Poland and other Slavic countries. Władysław Bielecki (1865-1924) was a Polish diplomat and politician who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1920.

While the surname Bielski may have originated as a descriptive nickname, it has since become a well-established family name with a rich history and notable bearers across various fields, from military and politics to music and religion.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bielski

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Bielski.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Bielski was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Bielski has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Bielski was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Bielski, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!