2000
#133,114
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Drogowski
A Polish toponymic surname derived from a place name referring to someone who lived near a road.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Drogowski. 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 Drogowski 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 Drogowski 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 Drogowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Drogowski
The surname Drogowski is of Polish origin, derived from the word "droga," meaning "road" or "path" in Polish. This suggests that the name may have originated from an occupational surname, referring to someone who lived near a road or worked on maintaining roads.
The earliest recorded instances of the Drogowski surname can be traced back to the 16th century in various regions of Poland, particularly in the areas around Krakow and Poznan. Historical records from this period, such as parish registers and municipal archives, provide evidence of families bearing this surname.
During the 17th century, the Drogowski name appeared in the archives of the Polish nobility, indicating that some members of the family had achieved noble status. Notable figures from this era include Jan Drogowski (1620-1688), a renowned military commander who fought in the Polish-Swedish Wars.
In the 18th century, the Drogowski surname gained prominence in the regions of Silesia and Masovia, where several families owned estates and landholdings. One notable figure from this time was Tomasz Drogowski (1732-1801), a respected jurist and legal scholar who served as a judge in the courts of Warsaw.
The 19th century saw the migration of many Drogowski families to other parts of Europe and the Americas, following the political upheavals and partitions of Poland. In the United States, one of the earliest recorded Drogowski immigrants was Marcin Drogowski (1855-1923), who settled in Chicago and became a prominent businessman in the city's Polish community.
Other notable individuals bearing the Drogowski surname include Karolina Drogowska (1875-1945), a Polish novelist and playwright known for her works exploring the struggles of women in society, and Jerzy Drogowski (1902-1987), a renowned artist and sculptor whose works are featured in various museums across Poland.
While the Drogowski surname is predominantly found in Poland and among the Polish diaspora, it has also been documented in other Slavic countries, such as Ukraine and Belarus, likely due to historical migrations and cultural exchanges between these regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Drogowski
Among Census respondents with the surname Drogowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Drogowski 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 Drogowski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.2% · 109
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Drogowski
Drogowski 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
#131,379
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 129
+12 bearers (+10.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 1,735 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-18 bearers (-14.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 17,286 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #133,114 | 117 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #131,379 | 129 | 0.04 | +12 bearers (+10.3%) | Up 1,735 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | -18 bearers (-14.0%) | Down 17,286 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 Drogowski 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 | #131,379 | #148,665 | -13.2% |
| Count | 129 | 111 | -14.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Drogowski bearers went from 129 to 111 (-14.0% change). The surname moved down 17,286 positions in the national ranking, going from #131,379 to #148,665.
FAQ
Drogowski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Drogowski?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Drogowski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Drogowski?
Drogowski 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 Drogowski. 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 Drogowski.
Has Drogowski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Drogowski went from 129 recorded bearers to 111. That is a decrease of 18 (-14.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #131,379 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Drogowski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Drogowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Drogowski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.2% (109 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Drogowski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.2%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Drogowski (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 Drogowski mean?
A Polish toponymic surname derived from a place name referring to someone who lived near a road. 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 Drogowski (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 have the last name Drogowski?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Drogowski is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.