Budnik last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Budnik

A surname derived from the word "budnik," referring to a person who lived in a small hut or cottage.

Budnik, 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 Budnik surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Budnik in America

Budnik is the 23691st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Budnik surname appeared 1,069 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 Budnik.

We can also compare 2010 data for Budnik 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 23691 23315 1.60%
Count 1,069 1,019 4.79%
Proportion per 100k 0.36 0.38 -5.41%

The history of the last name Budnik

The surname Budnik is of Slavic origin, originating in areas of present-day Poland and Ukraine. It is derived from the Slavic word "budnik," meaning a watchman or night guard. This suggests that the name was likely originally given as an occupational surname to individuals who worked as night watchmen or guards.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Budnik can be traced back to the 16th century in various historical records and documents from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. One notable example is a reference to a certain Marcin Budnik, a landowner from the village of Biskupice near Krakow, mentioned in a land registry from 1582.

In the 17th century, the name appears in various church records and tax registers from the regions of Galicia and Podolia, which were then part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. For instance, a Jakub Budnik is listed as a resident of the town of Zbarazh in a tax register from 1626.

The surname Budnik has also been found in historical records from the Russian Empire, particularly in areas that were once part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. One example is a mention of an Ivan Budnik, a peasant from the village of Dubrovno in the Smolensk region, in a census record from 1795.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the surname Budnik. One of the earliest was Stanisław Budnik (c. 1520-1586), a Polish nobleman and landowner from the village of Budniki near Lublin. Another notable figure was Józef Budnik (1775-1838), a Polish painter and artist who was a member of the Wilno School of Painting.

In the 19th century, Feliks Budnik (1828-1892) was a Polish politician and member of the Galician Sejm, while Józef Budnik (1836-1900) was a Polish writer and poet known for his works in the Kashubian language. In the 20th century, Stanisław Budnik (1890-1949) was a Polish military officer who fought in World War I and later served as a general in the Polish Army during World War II.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Budnik

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

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 Budnik was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 95.23% 1,018
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 1.40% 15
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.65% 7
Hispanic Origin 2.34% 25

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 Budnik has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 95.23% 95.88% -0.68%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.40% 0.79% 55.71%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 0.65% 1.77% -92.56%
Hispanic 2.34% 1.37% 52.29%

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 Budnik was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

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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!

"Budnik last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on July 11, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/budnik-surname-popularity/.

"Budnik last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/budnik-surname-popularity/. Accessed 11 July, 2025

Budnik last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/budnik-surname-popularity/.

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