Find out how popular the last name Cieslak is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Cieslak.

Cieslak, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Cieslak surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cieslak in America

Cieslak is the 16462nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cieslak surname appeared 1,746 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Cieslak.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cieslak to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Cieslak

The surname Cieslak has its origins in Poland, emerging in the late Middle Ages around the 15th century. It is derived from the Polish word "ciesla," which means "carpenter" or "woodworker." This occupational surname likely referred to someone who worked as a carpenter or in a related trade involving woodworking.

The name Cieslak is a diminutive form of "ciesla," with the suffix "-ak" added to indicate a smaller or lesser version of the original word. This naming convention was common in Polish surnames, particularly those derived from occupations or professions.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cieslak can be found in the Akta Grodzkie, a collection of court records from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, dating back to the 16th century. These records mention individuals with the surname Cieslak residing in various regions of Poland.

In the 17th century, the name Cieslak appeared in the records of the Tarnów Voivodeship, a historical administrative region in southern Poland. One notable individual from this period was Jan Cieslak, a landowner and nobleman who lived in the village of Wierzchosławice in the mid-1600s.

During the 18th century, the Cieslak surname gained prominence in the Kraków region, with several members of the family holding prominent positions in the local community. Marcin Cieslak (1715-1789) was a respected merchant and alderman in the city of Kraków, while Stanisław Cieslak (1738-1804) was a renowned architect and builder responsible for the construction of several churches and public buildings in the region.

In the 19th century, the Cieslak surname spread throughout Poland and neighboring countries. One notable figure from this period was Józef Cieslak (1827-1891), a Polish writer and poet who gained recognition for his romantic poetry and literary works.

Another prominent individual with the surname Cieslak was Władysław Cieslak (1879-1944), a Polish military officer and World War I veteran who later served in the Polish Legions during the Polish-Soviet War.

Throughout history, the surname Cieslak has been associated with various spellings and variations, such as Ciesielak, Ciesliński, and Cieslikowski, reflecting regional differences and linguistic adaptations over time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cieslak

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Cieslak.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Cieslak was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Cieslak has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Cieslak was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Cieslak, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!