2000
#138,741
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Chowanec
A Polish surname derived from the word "chować" meaning "to raise" or "to breed".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Chowanec. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Chowanec 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Chowanec in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Chowanec, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.0%) and Hispanic (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Chowanec
The surname Chowanec is of Polish origin, originating in the western regions of Poland near the present-day borders with Germany and the Czech Republic. It is believed to have emerged in the late medieval period, around the 14th or 15th century.
One theory suggests that the name Chowanec is derived from the Polish word "chować," which means "to hide" or "to conceal." This could potentially link the name to an ancestor who may have been involved in a profession or activity related to hiding or concealing, such as a forester, a hunter, or someone involved in the protection of valuable goods or people.
Another possibility is that the name Chowanec is a variant of the more common Polish surname "Chowaniak," which is thought to have originated from the word "chować" (to raise or to bring up), possibly referring to an ancestor who worked as a tutor, a governess, or someone involved in child-rearing or education.
While there is no definitive evidence of the name Chowanec appearing in historical records or manuscripts from the medieval period, some of the earliest documented instances of the surname can be found in church records and parish registers from the 16th and 17th centuries in the Polish regions of Silesia, Greater Poland, and Lesser Poland.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Chowanec was Jan Chowanec, a Catholic priest and theologian who lived in the late 16th century and served as a professor at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland.
Another notable figure was Andrzej Chowanec (1608-1668), a Polish nobleman and military commander who fought in the Smolensk War against Russia and the Swedish Deluge during the 17th century.
In the 18th century, Michał Chowanec (1721-1793) was a Polish historian and author who wrote extensively about the history of Poland and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
During the 19th century, Karol Chowanec (1829-1901) was a prominent Polish painter and artist, known for his portraits and historical scenes depicting Polish culture and traditions.
More recently, Tomasz Chowanec (1923-1994) was a Polish actor and theater director who had a long and successful career in both film and stage productions in Poland during the latter half of the 20th century.
While these are just a few examples, the surname Chowanec has a rich history and has been carried by individuals from various walks of life throughout the centuries in Poland and other parts of Eastern Europe.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chowanec
Among Census respondents with the surname Chowanec, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.0%) and Hispanic (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Chowanec 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 Chowanec surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.6% · 95
- Two or more races9.0% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 5
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Chowanec
Chowanec 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
#142,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
+6 bearers (+5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,367 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-6 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,557 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #138,741 | 111 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #142,108 | 117 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.4%) | Down 3,367 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 6,557 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 Chowanec 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 | #142,108 | #148,665 | -4.6% |
| Count | 117 | 111 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Chowanec bearers went from 117 to 111 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 6,557 positions in the national ranking, going from #142,108 to #148,665.
FAQ
Chowanec surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Chowanec?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Chowanec. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Chowanec?
Chowanec ranks #148,665 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 111 people with the surname Chowanec. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), 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 Chowanec.
Has Chowanec become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Chowanec went from 117 recorded bearers to 111. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #142,108 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Chowanec?
Among Census respondents with the surname Chowanec, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.0%) and Hispanic (4.5%). 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 Chowanec in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.6% (95 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Chowanec appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.6%), Two or More Races (9.0%), Hispanic (4.5%). 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 Chowanec (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 Chowanec mean?
A Polish surname derived from the word "chować" meaning "to raise" or "to breed". 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 Chowanec (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 share the surname Chowanec?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.