Borowski
Polish toponymic surname derived from place names such as Borowo or Borów, meaning "place of the forest."
According to the 2010 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,456 Americans carry the last name Borowski. That puts it at #8,609 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.30 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 76,920 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Borowski surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, 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
4.5K
1 in 76,920
Census rank
#8,609
2010 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,821 bearers of the surname Borowski in its 2010 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.30 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8609th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Borowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.5%) and Two or More Races (0.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Borowski
The surname Borowski originates from Poland, emerging in the medieval period around the 13th century. It is derived from the Polish word "bor," which means "pine forest" or "coniferous trees," suggesting that the name's earliest bearers may have resided in or near a pine forest or worked in forestry-related occupations.
The name is believed to have originated in the region of Mazovia, central Poland, where many early records of the surname can be found. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is in a 1357 document from the town of Płock, which mentions a person named "Marcin Borowski."
In the 15th century, the name appears in the Metryka Koronna, a collection of official documents from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. A notable entry is Jan Borowski, a landowner from the Kalisz region mentioned in a document dated 1478.
The Borowski surname can also be found in the famous Bychawski Chronicle, a 16th-century manuscript chronicling the history of the town of Bychawa. This document mentions a local nobleman named Mikołaj Borowski, who lived in the late 15th century.
One of the earliest prominent figures with the surname was Andrzej Borowski, a Polish Renaissance poet and translator born in 1534. He is best known for his translations of ancient Greek and Roman works into Polish.
Another notable individual was Stanisław Borowski, a 17th-century Polish nobleman and military leader who fought in the Polish-Swedish War (1655-1660). He was born in 1628 and served as a colonel in the Polish army.
In the 18th century, Franciszek Borowski (1748-1828) was a Polish historian and numismatist who made significant contributions to the study of Polish coins and medals.
The 19th century saw the rise of Tadeusz Borowski (1822-1901), a Polish writer and journalist who founded several newspapers and advocated for Polish independence during the partitions of Poland.
In the 20th century, the name gained international recognition through the works of writer and Holocaust survivor Tadeusz Borowski (1922-1951), whose short stories, such as "This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen," depicted the atrocities of Nazi concentration camps.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Borowski
Among Census respondents with the surname Borowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.5%) and Two or More Races (0.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Borowski bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2010 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.
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 Borowski surname at the time of the 2010 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.9%
- Hispanic or Latino1.5%
- Two or more races0.6%
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5%
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3%
- Black or African American0.2%
Year on year
2000 vs 2010 Census
How has the Borowski surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
| Metric | 2000 | 2010 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #7,771 | #8,609 | -10.8% |
| Count | 3,943 | 3,821 | -3.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.46 | 1.30 | -11.0% |
Between the 2000 and 2010 Census, the number of Borowski bearers went from 3,943 to 3,821 (-3.1% change). The surname moved down 838 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,771 to #8,609.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Borowski
FAQ
Borowski surname: questions and answers
How common is the last name Borowski?
The surname Borowski holds position #8,609 in the US Census Bureau's surname ranking, with an estimated 4,456 living bearers. It occurs at a rate of 1.30 per 100,000 Americans.
What is the ethnic background of the Borowski surname?
Among Census respondents with the surname Borowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.5%) and Two or More Races (0.6%). These figures come from the 2010 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Where does this surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These tables list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2010 Census, along with a frequency rate and self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.