2000
#126,400
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Coveleski
From the Polish place name Kowalewski, meaning "from Kowalew".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Coveleski. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Coveleski 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Coveleski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Coveleski, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Black (1.7%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Coveleski
The surname Coveleski originates from Poland and can be traced back to the early 17th century. It is believed to have originated from the Polish word "kowal," which means "blacksmith" or "metalworker." This suggests that the name was likely derived from an occupational surname, referring to someone who worked as a blacksmith or metalworker.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Coveleski can be found in the church records of the village of Kowalewo, located in the Warmian-Masurian region of northern Poland. These records date back to the 1620s and mention several families with the surname Coveleski, indicating that the name was already well-established in the area at that time.
In the 18th century, the name Coveleski appeared in various historical documents, including land records and census records from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. One notable figure from this period was Jan Coveleski, a prominent landowner and local official who lived in the village of Kowalówka, near the city of Lublin, in the late 1700s.
As Polish immigrants began to settle in other parts of the world, particularly in the United States, the name Coveleski spread to new regions. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in America was that of Stanislaw Coveleski, who arrived in New York City from Warsaw in 1882.
In the 20th century, the name Coveleski gained some prominence in the world of sports. Harry Coveleski (1886-1950) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for teams such as the Philadelphia Athletics and the Detroit Tigers between 1908 and 1928. He was a member of the 1913 World Series championship team with the Philadelphia Athletics.
Another notable figure with the Coveleski surname was Stanley Coveleski (1889-1984), who was also a Major League Baseball pitcher and played for teams like the Cleveland Indians and the Boston Red Sox between 1912 and 1928. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969.
Other individuals with the surname Coveleski include Maria Coveleski (1902-1992), a Polish-American writer and poet who published several works in the mid-20th century, and Andrzej Coveleski (1928-2005), a Polish-born sculptor and artist known for his abstract works.
The surname Coveleski continues to be found in various parts of the world today, particularly in Poland, the United States, and other countries with significant Polish diaspora communities.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Coveleski
Among Census respondents with the surname Coveleski, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Black (1.7%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Coveleski 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 Coveleski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.7% · 112
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Coveleski
Coveleski 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
#135,593
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124
-1 bearers (-0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 9,193 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
-7 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,677 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #126,400 | 125 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #135,593 | 124 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.8%) | Down 9,193 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 8,677 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 Coveleski 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 | #135,593 | #144,270 | -6.4% |
| Count | 124 | 117 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Coveleski bearers went from 124 to 117 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 8,677 positions in the national ranking, going from #135,593 to #144,270.
FAQ
Coveleski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Coveleski?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Coveleski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Coveleski?
Coveleski ranks #144,270 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 117 people with the surname Coveleski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), 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 Coveleski.
Has Coveleski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Coveleski went from 124 recorded bearers to 117. That is a decrease of 7 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #135,593 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Coveleski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Coveleski, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Black (1.7%) and Two or More Races (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 Coveleski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.7% (112 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Coveleski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.7%), Black (1.7%), Two or More Races (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 Coveleski (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 Coveleski mean?
From the Polish place name Kowalewski, meaning "from Kowalew". 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 Coveleski (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 Coveleski?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Coveleski at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.