2000
#124,109
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 128
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Bushko
A Ukrainian or Polish surname possibly denoting familial origin from a particular location.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 116 Americans carry the last name Bushko. That puts it at #155,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,954,779 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bushko 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
116
1 in 2,954,779
Census rank
#155,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
101
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 101 bearers of the surname Bushko in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bushko, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.0%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bushko
The surname Bushko has its origins in Eastern Europe, specifically in the region of modern-day Ukraine and Belarus. It likely emerged in the 16th or 17th century, derived from the Old East Slavic word "bush," meaning "bush" or "thicket." This suggests that the name may have originally been used to describe someone who lived near or worked in an area with dense vegetation.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bushko can be found in a land registry document from the town of Zhytomyr, Ukraine, dated to the late 17th century. This document lists a certain Ivan Bushko as a landowner in the region. The name appears to have been particularly prevalent in the areas around the cities of Kyiv and Chernihiv in central Ukraine.
In the 18th century, the surname Bushko can be found in various church records and census documents from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which at the time controlled parts of modern-day Ukraine and Belarus. This indicates that the name had spread throughout the region and was used by both Ukrainian and Belarusian families.
One notable individual with the surname Bushko was Hryhoriy Bushko, a Ukrainian Cossack leader who lived in the late 17th century. He is recorded as having led a group of Cossacks in battles against the Ottoman Empire and Crimean Khanate. Another early bearer of the name was Petro Bushko, a merchant and landowner from the town of Nizhyn, Ukraine, who was active in the mid-18th century.
As the centuries progressed, the surname Bushko continued to be found in various parts of Eastern Europe. In the 19th century, a prominent figure bearing the name was Yevhen Bushko, a Ukrainian writer and journalist who was born in 1834 and played a significant role in the Ukrainian cultural renaissance of the time.
Another individual of note was Oleksandr Bushko, a Belarusian painter and art teacher who lived from 1888 to 1975. His works, which often depicted scenes from rural life in Belarus, are now part of various museum collections in the country.
During the 20th century, the surname Bushko was carried by individuals such as Mykhailo Bushko, a Ukrainian writer and poet who was born in 1915 and whose works explored themes of patriotism and national identity. Additionally, Volodymyr Bushko, a Belarusian engineer and inventor who lived from 1927 to 2002, made significant contributions to the development of agricultural machinery in the Soviet Union.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bushko
Among Census respondents with the surname Bushko, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.0%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Bushko 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 Bushko surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.1% · 95
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 2
- Two or more races2.0% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bushko
Bushko 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
#157,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-25 bearers (-19.5%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 33,125 places
2020
#155,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
-2 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 1,964 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #124,109 | 128 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #157,234 | 103 | 0.03 | -25 bearers (-19.5%) | Down 33,125 places |
| 2020 | #155,270 | 101 | 0.03 | -2 bearers (-1.9%) | Up 1,964 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 Bushko 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 | #157,234 | #155,270 | 1.2% |
| Count | 103 | 101 | -1.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 12.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bushko bearers went from 103 to 101 (-1.9% change). The surname moved up 1,964 positions in the national ranking, going from #157,234 to #155,270.
FAQ
Bushko surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bushko?
Name Census estimates that about 116 living Americans carry the surname Bushko. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,954,779 residents.
How common is Bushko?
Bushko ranks #155,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 101 people with the surname Bushko. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (116), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Bushko.
Has Bushko become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bushko went from 103 recorded bearers to 101. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #157,234 to #155,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Bushko?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bushko, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.0%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Bushko in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.1% (95 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bushko appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.1%), Hispanic (2.0%), Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Bushko (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 Bushko mean?
A Ukrainian or Polish surname possibly denoting familial origin from a particular location. 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 Bushko (0.03 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 Americans have the surname Bushko?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.