Craciun last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Craciun

A Romanian surname derived from the word for "Christmas", originally a descriptive name.

Craciun, 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 Craciun surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Craciun in America

Craciun is the 64200th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Craciun surname appeared 310 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Craciun.

We can also compare 2010 data for Craciun 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 64200 86341 -29.42%
Count 310 201 42.66%
Proportion per 100k 0.11 0.07 44.44%

The history of the last name Craciun

The surname Craciun originates from Romania and is derived from the Romanian word "Craciun," which means "Christmas." This name likely emerged during the medieval period and was initially used as a nickname or a descriptive name for someone born or associated with the Christmas season.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Craciun can be found in the Transylvanian Saxons' records from the 16th century. These records documented individuals with this surname living in various Romanian regions, particularly in Transylvania and other parts of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The name Craciun was often associated with families or individuals who played significant roles in the celebration of Christmas traditions, such as church officials, event organizers, or performers. It is possible that some early bearers of this name were involved in the organization or celebration of Christmas festivities, leading to the adoption of this descriptive surname.

Notable individuals with the surname Craciun include Constantin Craciun, a Romanian writer and journalist who lived from 1858 to 1932. He was known for his contributions to the development of Romanian literature and journalism during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Another prominent figure was Alexandru Craciun, a Romanian politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania from 1935 to 1936. He was born in 1885 and played a crucial role in shaping Romania's foreign policy during the interwar period.

In the field of sports, Mihai Craciun, a Romanian football player who played as a defender for various clubs in Romania and abroad, gained recognition. He was born in 1955 and represented the Romanian national team in several international competitions.

Historically, the name Craciun also appeared in some place names, such as Craciun de Jos and Craciun de Sus, which were villages located in the Bihor County of northwestern Romania. These place names likely derived from early settlers or landowners with the Craciun surname.

Another notable individual was Gheorghe Craciun, a Romanian mathematician and computer scientist who made significant contributions to the field of theoretical computer science. He was born in 1960 and is known for his work on automata theory, formal languages, and computational complexity.

While the surname Craciun is primarily associated with Romania and its cultural traditions, it has also been adopted by individuals in other parts of Eastern Europe, particularly in areas with Romanian communities or historical connections to the region.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Craciun

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

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 Craciun was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 96.77% 300
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin 2.26% 7

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 Craciun has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 96.77% 93.03% 3.94%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races (S)% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic 2.26% 3.98% -55.13%

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 Craciun was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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"Craciun last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on June 4, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/craciun-surname-popularity/.

"Craciun last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/craciun-surname-popularity/. Accessed 4 June, 2025

Craciun last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/craciun-surname-popularity/.

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