2000
#12,035
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,381
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.88
Rare Last name
Glowacki
Of Polish origin, derived from the word "głowa," meaning "head," likely referring to a person with a distinctive head or intellect.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,538 Americans carry the last name Glowacki. That puts it at #13,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.74 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 135,049 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Glowacki 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Glowacki with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.5K
1 in 135,049
Census rank
#13,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,213 bearers of the surname Glowacki in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.74 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Glowacki, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Glowacki
The surname Glowacki is of Polish origin and can be traced back to the late Middle Ages. It is derived from the Polish word "głowa," meaning "head," and the suffix "-cki," indicating a place of origin or association. The name likely originated as a descriptive nickname or a reference to a person's occupation, perhaps related to head work or leadership roles.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Glowacki can be found in historical documents and records from the 15th and 16th centuries in various regions of Poland. One notable mention is in the Metryka Koronna, a collection of royal decrees and charters from the Kingdom of Poland, where the name appears in reference to landowners and noblemen.
In the 17th century, the Glowacki name can be found in the parish records of various towns and villages in the Polish regions of Greater Poland, Silesia, and Masovia. During this time, spelling variations such as Głowacki, Gловацки, and Glovatzky were common due to regional dialects and linguistic influences.
One of the earliest documented individuals with the surname Glowacki was Jan Glowacki (c. 1550-1615), a Polish nobleman and landowner from the Lublin region. Another notable figure was Stanisław Głowacki (1605-1672), a Catholic priest and theologian who served as a professor at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow.
In the 18th century, the Glowacki name gained prominence with the birth of Franciszek Głowacki (1742-1810), a Polish military officer who fought in the Kościuszko Uprising against Russian and Prussian forces. His son, Wincenty Głowacki (1788-1865), was a renowned painter and one of the pioneers of Polish Romanticism in art.
During the 19th century, the Glowacki name was associated with several notable individuals, including Aleksander Głowacki (1847-1912), a Polish writer and journalist known for his satirical works, and Zygmunt Głowacki (1876-1945), a Polish architect and urban planner who designed several landmark buildings in Warsaw.
Another significant figure bearing the Glowacki surname was Bolesław Głowacki (1886-1940), a Polish military officer and diplomat who served as the Polish ambassador to the Soviet Union in the late 1930s. He was executed by Soviet authorities during the Katyn Massacre of 1940.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Glowacki
Among Census respondents with the surname Glowacki, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Glowacki 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 Glowacki surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.9% · 2,077
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 65
- Two or more races2.0% · 44
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 13
- Black or African American0.4% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Glowacki
Glowacki 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
#13,107
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,339
-42 bearers (-1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Down 1,072 places
2020
#13,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,213
-126 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Down 114 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,035 | 2,381 | 0.88 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,107 | 2,339 | 0.79 | -42 bearers (-1.8%) | Down 1,072 places |
| 2020 | #13,221 | 2,213 | 0.74 | -126 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 114 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 Glowacki 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 | #13,107 | #13,221 | -0.9% |
| Count | 2,339 | 2,213 | -5.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.79 | 0.74 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Glowacki bearers went from 2,339 to 2,213 (-5.4% change). The surname moved down 114 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,107 to #13,221.
FAQ
Glowacki surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Glowacki?
Name Census estimates that about 2,538 living Americans carry the surname Glowacki. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 135,049 residents.
How common is Glowacki?
Glowacki ranks #13,221 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.74 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,213 people with the surname Glowacki. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,538), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.74 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.74 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Glowacki.
Has Glowacki become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Glowacki went from 2,339 recorded bearers to 2,213. That is a decrease of 126 (-5.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,107 to #13,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Glowacki?
Among Census respondents with the surname Glowacki, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (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 Glowacki in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.9% (2,077 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Glowacki appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.9%), Hispanic (2.9%), Two or More Races (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 Glowacki (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 Glowacki mean?
Of Polish origin, derived from the word "głowa," meaning "head," likely referring to a person with a distinctive head or intellect. 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 Glowacki (0.74 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 Glowacki?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Glowacki? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.