2000
#140,756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Fafinski
From a Polish place name referring to someone from Fafin.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 114 Americans carry the last name Fafinski. That puts it at #156,005 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,006,617 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fafinski 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
114
1 in 3,006,617
Census rank
#156,005
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
99
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 99 bearers of the surname Fafinski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156005th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fafinski, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.1%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fafinski
The surname FAFINSKI is of Polish origin and is believed to have emerged in the late 16th or early 17th century. It is thought to have originated from the Polish word "fafula," which means a type of cake or pastry. This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a descriptive surname to someone who made or sold these pastries.
One of the earliest known records of the FAFINSKI surname dates back to the late 17th century in the Wielkopolska region of western Poland. In a parish record from 1685, a man named Tomasz Fafinski is mentioned as a resident of the village of Stawiszyn.
By the 18th century, the name had spread to other parts of Poland, with various spellings such as Fafinski, Fafiński, and Fafinsky appearing in historical documents. In 1723, a record from the city of Lublin mentions a merchant named Jan Fafiński.
One notable bearer of the FAFINSKI surname was Stanisław Fafiński (1801-1879), a Polish writer and journalist who was a prominent figure in the Polish Romantic literary movement. He published several works, including novels and poetry collections, and was also active in the Polish independence movement.
Another individual of note was Feliks Fafiński (1858-1922), a Polish architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Warsaw, including the Church of the Holy Cross and the Warsaw Philharmonic.
In the early 20th century, the FAFINSKI surname was also found in other parts of Europe, likely due to migration and emigration. For example, a man named Władysław Fafinski (1885-1962) was a Polish-born painter who spent much of his career working in France.
The name FAFINSKI can also be traced to some historical place names in Poland, such as the village of Fafuły in the Mazovian Voivodeship, which may have influenced the development of the surname.
It is worth noting that while the FAFINSKI surname has a long history in Poland, it is relatively uncommon and not among the most prevalent Polish surnames today.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fafinski
Among Census respondents with the surname Fafinski, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.1%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Fafinski 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 Fafinski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.9% · 88
- Two or more races7.1% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 2
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fafinski
Fafinski 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
#156,044
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-5 bearers (-4.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 15,288 places
2020
#156,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 99
-5 bearers (-4.8%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 39 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #140,756 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #156,044 | 104 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.6%) | Down 15,288 places |
| 2020 | #156,005 | 99 | 0.03 | -5 bearers (-4.8%) | Up 39 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 Fafinski 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 | #156,044 | #156,005 | 0.0% |
| Count | 104 | 99 | -4.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -17.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fafinski bearers went from 104 to 99 (-4.8% change). The surname moved up 39 positions in the national ranking, going from #156,044 to #156,005.
FAQ
Fafinski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fafinski?
Name Census estimates that about 114 living Americans carry the surname Fafinski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,006,617 residents.
How common is Fafinski?
Fafinski ranks #156,005 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 99 people with the surname Fafinski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (114), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Fafinski.
Has Fafinski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fafinski went from 104 recorded bearers to 99. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #156,044 to #156,005.
What does the Census say about the background of Fafinski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fafinski, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.1%) and Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Fafinski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.9% (88 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fafinski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.9%), Two or More Races (7.1%), Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Fafinski (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 Fafinski mean?
From a Polish place name referring to someone from Fafin. 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 Fafinski (0.03 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 Fafinski?
If you just want to know how many people are called Fafinski, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.