2000
#8,818
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,421
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.27
Rare Last name
Chmielewski
A Polish occupational surname referring to a hop grower or seller of hops.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,784 Americans carry the last name Chmielewski. That puts it at #9,434 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.10 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 90,580 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Chmielewski 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Chmielewski with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.8K
1 in 90,580
Census rank
#9,434
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,300 bearers of the surname Chmielewski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.10 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9434th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Chmielewski, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Chmielewski
The surname Chmielewski is of Polish origin and can be traced back to the 16th century. It is a toponymic name derived from the Polish word "chmiel," meaning "hops." This suggests that the name may have originated from a place where hops were grown or processed.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Chmielewski can be found in a 16th-century document from the town of Poznań, Poland. The document mentions a certain Jan Chmielewski, a landowner and farmer.
In the 17th century, the name appeared in various records from the regions of Mazovia and Greater Poland. There are mentions of a Michał Chmielewski, a nobleman who lived in the village of Chmielnik near Warsaw, and a Stanisław Chmielewski, a merchant from the city of Kalisz.
The 18th century saw the rise of a prominent Chmielewski family in the town of Tykocin, in what is now northeastern Poland. One of the notable members of this family was Kazimierz Chmielewski (1745-1823), a Polish military officer who fought in the Kościuszko Uprising against Russian forces.
In the 19th century, the name Chmielewski became more widespread across different regions of Poland. One notable figure was Józef Chmielewski (1810-1879), a Polish painter and sculptor who studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg.
Another significant figure was Władysław Chmielewski (1848-1912), a Polish writer and journalist who was a prominent advocate for Polish independence from Russian rule. He founded several Polish-language newspapers and was active in various patriotic organizations.
As the Polish diaspora grew in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the name Chmielewski spread to other parts of the world. One example is Benedykt Chmielewski (1700-1763), a Polish Jesuit missionary who traveled to South America and established several missions in present-day Bolivia and Brazil.
Throughout its history, the surname Chmielewski has been associated with various professions, including landowners, merchants, artists, writers, and military personnel. While the name originated in Poland, it has since been carried by individuals of Polish descent around the globe.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chmielewski
Among Census respondents with the surname Chmielewski, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Chmielewski 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 Chmielewski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.1% · 3,071
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 101
- Two or more races2.4% · 78
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 31
- Black or African American0.5% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Chmielewski
Chmielewski 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
#9,431
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,449
+28 bearers (+0.8%)
Per 100,000 1.17
Rank movement Down 613 places
2020
#9,434
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,300
-149 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 1.10
Rank movement Down 3 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,818 | 3,421 | 1.27 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,431 | 3,449 | 1.17 | +28 bearers (+0.8%) | Down 613 places |
| 2020 | #9,434 | 3,300 | 1.10 | -149 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 3 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 Chmielewski 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 | #9,431 | #9,434 | -0.0% |
| Count | 3,449 | 3,300 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.17 | 1.10 | -5.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Chmielewski bearers went from 3,449 to 3,300 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 3 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,431 to #9,434.
FAQ
Chmielewski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Chmielewski?
Name Census estimates that about 3,784 living Americans carry the surname Chmielewski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 90,580 residents.
How common is Chmielewski?
Chmielewski ranks #9,434 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.10 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,300 people with the surname Chmielewski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,784), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.10 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Chmielewski.
Has Chmielewski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Chmielewski went from 3,449 recorded bearers to 3,300. That is a decrease of 149 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,431 to #9,434.
What does the Census say about the background of Chmielewski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Chmielewski, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Chmielewski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (3,071 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Chmielewski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.1%), Hispanic (3.1%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Chmielewski (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 Chmielewski mean?
A Polish occupational surname referring to a hop grower or seller of hops. 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 Chmielewski (1.10 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 common is the surname Chmielewski?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Chmielewski at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.