2010
#147,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Chalecki
A Polish surname possibly derived from a place name or referring to a person from the town of Chalec/Chałeć.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Chalecki. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Chalecki 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
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Chalecki in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Chalecki, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Chalecki
The surname Chalecki has its origins in Poland, with the earliest recorded instances dating back to the 15th century. The name is believed to be derived from the Polish word "chalka," which means a small loaf of bread or a roll. This suggests that the name may have initially been a descriptive reference to an occupation or a distinguishing characteristic of the family's ancestors.
One of the earliest documented references to the Chalecki name can be found in the records of the town of Krakow, where a baker named Jakub Chalecki was mentioned in a guild register from the year 1487. This provides evidence that the name was already in use during the late medieval period and lends support to the theory of its occupational origins.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Chalecki name appears in various historical documents, including land records and parish registers, across different regions of Poland. Notably, a nobleman named Jan Chalecki was recorded as a landowner in the village of Kozienice in the early 1600s.
During the 18th century, the Chalecki family seems to have established itself in the area around the city of Poznan, with several members holding prominent positions in local government and religious institutions. One such individual was Andrzej Chalecki, who served as the mayor of Poznan from 1742 to 1755.
As the Chalecki name spread across Poland, variations in spelling and pronunciation emerged, such as Chaletzki, Chaletzky, and Chalecki. These variations were often influenced by regional dialects and scribal practices of the time.
Notable individuals bearing the Chalecki surname include:
1. Stanislaw Chalecki (1877-1939), a Polish historian and professor at the University of Warsaw.
2. Tadeusz Chalecki (1909-1989), a Polish diplomat and ambassador to several countries, including the United States.
3. Zofia Chalecka (1920-2003), a renowned Polish actress and theater director.
4. Wladyslaw Chalecki (1923-2018), a Polish military officer and highly decorated veteran of World War II.
5. Jerzy Chalecki (born 1952), a contemporary Polish film director and screenwriter.
While the Chalecki name has maintained a presence in Poland throughout its history, it has also been carried by Polish immigrants to other parts of the world, contributing to the global diaspora of this surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chalecki
Among Census respondents with the surname Chalecki, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Chalecki 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 Chalecki surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.2% · 98
- Hispanic or Latino4.8% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Chalecki
Chalecki appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-8 bearers (-7.1%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 6,337 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #147,253 | 112 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | -8 bearers (-7.1%) | Down 6,337 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 Chalecki 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 | #147,253 | #153,590 | -4.3% |
| Count | 112 | 104 | -7.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Chalecki bearers went from 112 to 104 (-7.1% change). The surname moved down 6,337 positions in the national ranking, going from #147,253 to #153,590.
FAQ
Chalecki surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Chalecki?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Chalecki. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Chalecki?
Chalecki ranks #153,590 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 104 people with the surname Chalecki. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), 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 Chalecki.
Has Chalecki become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Chalecki went from 112 recorded bearers to 104. That is a decrease of 8 (-7.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #147,253 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Chalecki?
Among Census respondents with the surname Chalecki, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%). 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 Chalecki in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.2% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Chalecki appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.2%), Hispanic (4.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%). 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 Chalecki (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 Chalecki mean?
A Polish surname possibly derived from a place name or referring to a person from the town of Chalec/Chałeć. 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 Chalecki (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 people have the surname Chalecki?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.