Gadowski
A Polish surname derived from the place name Gadow, indicating a person's geographic origin.
According to the 2010 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 103 Americans carry the last name Gadowski. That puts it at #157,234 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,327,712 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gadowski 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.
Gadowski appeared in the 2010 Census surname file but was not included in the published 2020 file. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames with at least 100 recorded bearers, so this usually means the name fell below that threshold.
Bearers in the US
103
1 in 3,327,712
Census rank
#157,234
2010 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 Gadowski in its 2010 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 157234th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gadowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.1%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gadowski
The surname Gadowski is of Polish origin, with its roots traceable to the early medieval period. It is believed to have originated from the Polish word "gad," which means "snake" or "reptile," and the suffix "-owski," a common Polish surname ending denoting belonging or association.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the records of the town of Gdańsk (formerly known as Danzig) in the 14th century. It is likely that the name was initially used to identify individuals who lived near areas with a significant presence of snakes or reptiles.
In the 16th century, the name Gadowski appears in several historical documents from the region of Masovia, situated in east-central Poland. One notable bearer of the name was Jan Gadowski (1510-1578), a wealthy landowner and merchant who played a significant role in the local economy of the time.
The Gadowski surname also has a connection to the city of Kraków, where records from the 17th century mention a respected family of that name. Andrzej Gadowski (1620-1687) was a prominent figure in the city's academic circles, serving as a professor of philosophy at the Jagiellonian University.
In the 18th century, the name Gadowski gained further recognition with the birth of Maria Gadowska (1761-1828), a renowned Polish poet and writer. Her works, which often explored themes of nature and the human condition, were widely celebrated during her lifetime.
Another notable bearer of the Gadowski surname was Kazimierz Gadowski (1879-1957), a Polish military officer who fought in both World War I and World War II. He was awarded several honors for his bravery and leadership during these conflicts.
While the name Gadowski has its roots in Poland, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to migration and diaspora. However, its origins remain firmly rooted in the rich cultural and historical tapestry of the Polish people.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gadowski
Among Census respondents with the surname Gadowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.1%.
The bar chart below shows how Gadowski bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2010 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 Gadowski surname at the time of the 2010 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.1%
- Unknown or suppressed2.9%
FAQ
Gadowski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gadowski?
Name Census estimates that about 103 living Americans carry the surname Gadowski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,327,712 residents.
How common is Gadowski?
Gadowski ranks #157,234 in the 2010 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 2010 Census file counted 103 people with the surname Gadowski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (103), 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 Gadowski.
Has Gadowski become more or less common over time?
Gadowski appears here with 2010 Census data. When additional surname-file years are available for this name, Name Census uses them to show longer-term movement in rank and bearer count.
What does the Census say about the background of Gadowski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gadowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.1%. These figures come from the 2010 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 Gadowski in the 2010 Census, accounting for 97.1%.
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gadowski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2010 file are White (97.1%).
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Not necessarily. Gadowski appears here with 2010 Census data, while the latest surname file loaded on Name Census is 2020. When a surname drops below the Census publication threshold, older rows can still be kept for historical reference even if the name no longer appears in the newest file.
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 Gadowski mean?
A Polish surname derived from the place name Gadow, indicating a person's geographic origin. 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 2010 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 Gadowski (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 have the last name Gadowski?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Gadowski at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.