2000
#12,692
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,235
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.83
Rare Last name
Brzezinski
A Polish habitational surname derived from the place name Brzeziny, meaning "dweller near the birch trees."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,529 Americans carry the last name Brzezinski. That puts it at #13,259 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.74 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 135,530 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brzezinski 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Brzezinski with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.5K
1 in 135,530
Census rank
#13,259
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,205 bearers of the surname Brzezinski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.74 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13259th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brzezinski, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (1.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brzezinski
The surname BRZEZINSKI is of Polish origin, derived from the word "brzoza" which means "birch tree" in the Polish language. It likely originated in the late medieval period or early modern era, when many surnames were formed based on occupation, location, or physical characteristics.
One possible origin of the name is that it referred to someone who lived near or worked with birch trees, such as a forester, woodcutter, or charcoal burner. Alternatively, it could have been given as a descriptive nickname to someone who lived near a birch grove or had a complexion resembling the pale white bark of the birch tree.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname BRZEZINSKI can be found in historical records and documents from the 16th and 17th centuries in various regions of Poland, particularly in the areas that were part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at the time.
One notable bearer of the name was Jan Stanisław Brzezinski (1554-1622), a Polish nobleman and military commander who fought against the Swedes during the Polish-Swedish wars. He was known for his bravery and leadership on the battlefield.
Another historical figure was Wawrzyniec Brzezinski (1608-1673), a Polish Jesuit priest and scholar who wrote several influential works on theology and philosophy. He was highly regarded for his intellectual contributions during the Counter-Reformation period.
In the 19th century, Józef Brzezinski (1810-1888) was a Polish painter and art teacher who played a significant role in the development of Polish realism in art. His works often depicted scenes from everyday life and the struggles of the working class.
One of the most famous bearers of the surname in modern times was Zbigniew Brzezinski (1928-2017), an American diplomat, political scientist, and national security advisor to President Jimmy Carter. He was instrumental in shaping U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War era and was widely respected for his strategic insights and expertise.
Another notable figure was Kazimierz Brzezinski (1912-2003), a Polish-American mathematician and logician who made significant contributions to the fields of set theory and model theory. He held academic positions at various prestigious universities and was a member of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brzezinski
Among Census respondents with the surname Brzezinski, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (1.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Brzezinski 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 Brzezinski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.3% · 2,080
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 62
- Two or more races1.6% · 36
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
- Black or African American0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brzezinski
Brzezinski 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
#13,264
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,300
+65 bearers (+2.9%)
Per 100,000 0.78
Rank movement Down 572 places
2020
#13,259
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,205
-95 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Up 5 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,692 | 2,235 | 0.83 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,264 | 2,300 | 0.78 | +65 bearers (+2.9%) | Down 572 places |
| 2020 | #13,259 | 2,205 | 0.74 | -95 bearers (-4.1%) | Up 5 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 Brzezinski 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 | #13,264 | #13,259 | 0.0% |
| Count | 2,300 | 2,205 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.78 | 0.74 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brzezinski bearers went from 2,300 to 2,205 (-4.1% change). The surname moved up 5 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,264 to #13,259.
FAQ
Brzezinski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brzezinski?
Name Census estimates that about 2,529 living Americans carry the surname Brzezinski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 135,530 residents.
How common is Brzezinski?
Brzezinski ranks #13,259 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.74 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,205 people with the surname Brzezinski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,529), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.74 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.74 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Brzezinski.
Has Brzezinski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brzezinski went from 2,300 recorded bearers to 2,205. That is a decrease of 95 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,264 to #13,259.
What does the Census say about the background of Brzezinski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brzezinski, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Brzezinski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.3% (2,080 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brzezinski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.3%), Hispanic (2.8%), Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Brzezinski (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 Brzezinski mean?
A Polish habitational surname derived from the place name Brzeziny, meaning "dweller near the birch trees." 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 Brzezinski (0.74 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 last name Brzezinski?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Brzezinski at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.