2000
#133,114
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Chapski
A surname likely derived from a Polish or Russian place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Chapski. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Chapski 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
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Chapski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Chapski, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Chapski
The surname Chapski originates from Poland, with roots dating back to the 16th century. It likely derives from the Polish word "czapka," which means "cap" or "hat." The name may have initially been given as a descriptive nickname to someone who wore a distinctive cap or worked in a profession related to hat-making.
Chapski is a variant spelling of the more common Polish surname Czapski. The earliest known record of the Czapski name appears in the Metryka Koronna, a collection of Polish royal documents from the 16th century. One entry from 1582 mentions a nobleman named Jan Czapski, who held land in the Płock region of central Poland.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Czapski family gained prominence as part of the Polish nobility. Notable individuals include Piotr Czapski (1638-1701), a military commander who fought against the Swedish and Ottoman empires, and Franciszek Czapski (1744-1826), a politician and writer who served as a member of the Great Sejm of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
The variant spelling Chapski likely emerged as the name spread beyond Poland's borders, with different regional pronunciations and transcriptions. One of the earliest recorded examples of this spelling can be found in the 1835 book "A New and Complete System of Geography" by Jedidiah Morse, which mentions a Russian nobleman named Count Chapski.
Another notable figure with this surname was Józef Chapski (1822-1888), a Polish artist and painter who studied in Rome and later became a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. His works can be found in various museums and galleries throughout Poland.
In the late 19th century, the name Chapski began to appear in immigration records as Polish families sought new opportunities in countries like the United States and Canada. For example, a man named Jan Chapski arrived in New York City from Warsaw in 1892, according to ship passenger lists.
Other historical figures with the Chapski surname include Ludwik Chapski (1870-1945), a Polish engineer and inventor who patented several devices related to telecommunications and radio technology, and Wanda Chapska (1901-1988), a Polish actress and singer who appeared in numerous films and theater productions during the interwar period.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chapski
Among Census respondents with the surname Chapski, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Chapski 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 Chapski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.2% · 113
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Chapski
Chapski 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
#130,610
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 130
+13 bearers (+11.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,504 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
-10 bearers (-7.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,439 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #133,114 | 117 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #130,610 | 130 | 0.04 | +13 bearers (+11.1%) | Up 2,504 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-7.7%) | Down 11,439 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 Chapski 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 | #130,610 | #142,049 | -8.8% |
| Count | 130 | 120 | -7.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Chapski bearers went from 130 to 120 (-7.7% change). The surname moved down 11,439 positions in the national ranking, going from #130,610 to #142,049.
FAQ
Chapski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Chapski?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Chapski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Chapski?
Chapski ranks #142,049 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 120 people with the surname Chapski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), 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 Chapski.
Has Chapski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Chapski went from 130 recorded bearers to 120. That is a decrease of 10 (-7.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #130,610 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Chapski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Chapski, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5%) 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 Chapski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.2% (113 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Chapski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5%), 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 Chapski (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 Chapski mean?
A surname likely derived from a Polish or Russian place name. 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 Chapski (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 people are called Chapski?
Want to know how many people have the surname Chapski? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.