2000
#127,186
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Garboski
A Polish surname derived from the town of Garbów or the personal name Garb.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 139 Americans carry the last name Garboski. That puts it at #141,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,465,859 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Garboski 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
139
1 in 2,465,859
Census rank
#141,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
121
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 121 bearers of the surname Garboski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 141309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Garboski, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.3%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Garboski
The surname Garboski is of Polish origin, originating in the late 15th or early 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Polish word "garb," meaning "hump" or "hunchback," which may have been a descriptive nickname for an ancestor with a physical deformity. The earliest known instances of the name were recorded in historical records from the Krakow region of southern Poland.
One of the earliest documented references to the Garboski name can be found in the Krakow Land Records from the mid-16th century, where a Marcin Garboski is mentioned as a landowner in the village of Brzezie. In the late 16th century, a Jakub Garboski served as a municipal clerk in the city of Tarnow, as recorded in the town's archives.
During the 17th century, the Garboski family appears to have spread across various regions of Poland. In 1613, a Stanislaw Garboski was born in the town of Lublin, and later served as a Catholic priest in the nearby village of Kazimierz Dolny. In the 1670s, a Tomasz Garboski was a prominent merchant and member of the guild in the city of Gdansk.
The early 18th century saw the emergence of a notable Garboski figure, Franciszek Garbowski (1687-1759), who was a respected scholar and professor of philosophy at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. His works on logic and metaphysics were widely studied throughout Poland and neighboring countries.
In the 19th century, Wincenty Garbowski (1811-1884) was a prominent Polish journalist and writer, known for his satirical works criticizing the Russian occupation of Poland. He spent several years in exile in France, where he published a influential newspaper called "Gwiazda Polska" (The Polish Star).
Throughout its history, the Garboski surname has also been spelled in various ways, such as Garbowski, Garbowsky, and Garbowicz, reflecting regional differences in pronunciation and spelling conventions within Poland. While not a particularly common name, the Garboski surname has left its mark on the historical records of Poland and its cultural heritage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Garboski
Among Census respondents with the surname Garboski, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.3%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Garboski 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 Garboski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.8% · 105
- Hispanic or Latino8.3% · 10
- Two or more races2.5% · 3
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Garboski
Garboski 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
#120,901
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 143
+19 bearers (+15.3%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 6,285 places
2020
#141,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
-22 bearers (-15.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 20,408 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #127,186 | 124 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #120,901 | 143 | 0.05 | +19 bearers (+15.3%) | Up 6,285 places |
| 2020 | #141,309 | 121 | 0.04 | -22 bearers (-15.4%) | Down 20,408 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 Garboski 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 | #120,901 | #141,309 | -16.9% |
| Count | 143 | 121 | -15.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -19.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Garboski bearers went from 143 to 121 (-15.4% change). The surname moved down 20,408 positions in the national ranking, going from #120,901 to #141,309.
FAQ
Garboski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Garboski?
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the surname Garboski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,465,859 residents.
How common is Garboski?
Garboski ranks #141,309 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 121 people with the surname Garboski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (139), 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 Garboski.
Has Garboski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Garboski went from 143 recorded bearers to 121. That is a decrease of 22 (-15.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #120,901 to #141,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Garboski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Garboski, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.3%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Garboski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.8% (105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Garboski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.8%), Hispanic (8.3%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Garboski (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 Garboski mean?
A Polish surname derived from the town of Garbów or the personal name Garb. 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 Garboski (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 Americans have the surname Garboski?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.