2000
#132,259
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Filko
An Eastern European surname likely derived from a diminutive form of a Slavic personal name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Filko. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Filko 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Filko in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Filko, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Filko
The surname Filko is believed to have originated in the Czech Republic, deriving from the Slavic root word "fil," which means "lover" or "friend." This surname likely emerged during the medieval period, around the 12th or 13th century, when surnames started to become more widespread in Eastern Europe.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Filko can be found in a 14th-century Czech Chronicle, where a nobleman named Jan Filko was mentioned as a prominent landowner in the region of Bohemia. This suggests that the name may have initially been associated with the aristocracy or influential families in the area.
In the 15th century, a village called Filkov was established in the present-day Slovak Republic, which may have been named after an early settler or landowner with the surname Filko. This village still exists today and could provide clues about the geographical origins of the name.
During the 16th century, a notable figure named Mikuláš Filko (1535-1592) was a renowned Czech scholar and educator who played a significant role in the intellectual and cultural life of Prague. His contributions to education and the preservation of Czech language and literature have been well-documented.
Another prominent individual with the surname Filko was Ján Filko (1856-1938), a Slovak artist and painter known for his landscapes and portraiture. He was a member of the influential Slovak artistic movement called the "Levoča School" and his works are displayed in several art museums across Slovakia.
In the 20th century, a Czech playwright and screenwriter named Jiří Filko (1923-1995) gained recognition for his contributions to Czech theater and cinema. His plays and screenplays often explored themes of social injustice and moral dilemmas, reflecting the political climate of his time.
While the surname Filko is predominantly found in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, it has also spread to other parts of the world due to migration and diaspora communities. However, the historical roots of this name can be traced back to the Slavic regions of Eastern Europe, where it likely emerged as a descriptive surname related to personal qualities or traits.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Filko
Among Census respondents with the surname Filko, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Filko 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 Filko surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 95
- Two or more races4.9% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 2
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Filko
Filko 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
#141,140
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,881 places
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-15 bearers (-12.7%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 13,042 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #132,259 | 118 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #141,140 | 118 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 8,881 places |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | -15 bearers (-12.7%) | Down 13,042 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 Filko 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 | #141,140 | #154,182 | -9.2% |
| Count | 118 | 103 | -12.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Filko bearers went from 118 to 103 (-12.7% change). The surname moved down 13,042 positions in the national ranking, going from #141,140 to #154,182.
FAQ
Filko surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Filko?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Filko. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Filko?
Filko ranks #154,182 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 103 people with the surname Filko. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), 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 Filko.
Has Filko become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Filko went from 118 recorded bearers to 103. That is a decrease of 15 (-12.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #141,140 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Filko?
Among Census respondents with the surname Filko, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Filko in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (95 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Filko appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Two or More Races (4.9%), Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Filko (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 Filko mean?
An Eastern European surname likely derived from a diminutive form of a Slavic personal name. 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 Filko (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 Filko?
See how many people have the surname Filko on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.