2000
#128,797
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Celinski
A Polish surname derived from a place name and indicating a geographic origin.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Celinski. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Celinski 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Celinski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Celinski, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Celinski
The surname CELINSKI is of Polish origin, emerging in the 16th century from the region of Western Pomerania, an area that spans modern-day Poland and Germany. It is believed to derive from the Polish word "cielinski," meaning "one from the calf's pasture," indicating its original association with rural settlements or farming communities.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the CELINSKI name can be found in the Pomeranian Land Registry of 1578, where a landowner named Jan Celinski is listed among the nobility of the region. This suggests that the name was already well-established among the gentry of the time.
In the 17th century, the CELINSKI name appears in several ecclesiastical records from the Archdiocese of Gniezno, indicating that members of the family had entered into religious orders or held positions within the Catholic Church. Notable examples include Father Maciej Celinski (1625-1689), a renowned theologian and rector of the Jesuit College in Kalisz.
During the 18th century, the CELINSKI name gained prominence in military circles, with several individuals serving in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth's armed forces. One such figure was Stanisław Celinski (1720-1781), a cavalry officer who fought in the War of the Polish Succession and later became a respected landowner in the Poznan region.
As Poland experienced significant political upheaval and territorial changes in the 19th century, members of the CELINSKI family migrated to various parts of Europe and beyond. Józef Celinski (1818-1892), a Polish patriot and writer, fled to France following the November Uprising of 1830 and later settled in the United States, where he became a vocal advocate for Polish independence.
In more recent history, the CELINSKI name has been associated with notable figures in academia and the arts. For example, Bronisław Celinski (1892-1972) was a renowned Polish painter and art professor who taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, while Andrzej Celinski (born 1948) is a distinguished mathematician and computer scientist who has made significant contributions to the field of cryptography.
Overall, the CELINSKI surname has a rich history deeply rooted in Polish culture and tradition, with its earliest origins traceable to the rural gentry of Western Pomerania. Over the centuries, it has been borne by individuals from diverse walks of life, including religious leaders, military officers, writers, artists, and scholars, reflecting the multifaceted nature of the Polish experience.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Celinski
Among Census respondents with the surname Celinski, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Celinski 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 Celinski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.1% · 111
- Two or more races4.2% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Celinski
Celinski 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
#129,825
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 131
+9 bearers (+7.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,028 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
-13 bearers (-9.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,686 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #128,797 | 122 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #129,825 | 131 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+7.4%) | Down 1,028 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | -13 bearers (-9.9%) | Down 13,686 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 Celinski 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 | #129,825 | #143,511 | -10.5% |
| Count | 131 | 118 | -9.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Celinski bearers went from 131 to 118 (-9.9% change). The surname moved down 13,686 positions in the national ranking, going from #129,825 to #143,511.
FAQ
Celinski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Celinski?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Celinski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Celinski?
Celinski ranks #143,511 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 118 people with the surname Celinski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Celinski.
Has Celinski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Celinski went from 131 recorded bearers to 118. That is a decrease of 13 (-9.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #129,825 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Celinski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Celinski, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (1.7%). 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 Celinski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.1% (111 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Celinski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.1%), Two or More Races (4.2%), Hispanic (1.7%). 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 Celinski (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 Celinski mean?
A Polish surname derived from a place name and indicating a geographic origin. 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 Celinski (0.04 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 Celinski?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.