2000
#69,636
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 263
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.10
Very Rare Last name
Gomolka
A surname of Polish origin meaning "little hill" or "hillock".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 290 Americans carry the last name Gomolka. That puts it at #80,815 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,181,912 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gomolka 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
290
1 in 1,181,912
Census rank
#80,815
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
253
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 253 bearers of the surname Gomolka in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 80815th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gomolka, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (0.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gomolka
The surname Gomolka is believed to have originated in Poland, with roots dating back to the 12th or 13th century. It is derived from the Polish word "gomolka," which means "small round thing" or "knob." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to a physical characteristic or perhaps even a profession related to woodworking or carpentry.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Gomolka name can be found in the Liber Beneficiorum, a 14th-century manuscript that documented ecclesiastical benefices in the Archdiocese of Gniezno, Poland. The name appears in various spellings, including "Gomolka," "Gomułka," and "Gomółka," reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and orthography.
In the 16th century, a prominent figure bearing the Gomolka surname was Wacław Gomolka (c. 1505-1590), a Polish composer and organist who served at the Wawel Cathedral in Krakow. His contributions to sacred music during the Renaissance period were significant, and his works were widely disseminated throughout Europe.
Another notable historical figure with the Gomolka surname was Władysław Gomułka (1905-1982), a Polish communist leader who served as the First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party from 1956 to 1970. His tenure was marked by a period of relative liberalization in Poland, known as the "Polish October," before he later implemented repressive policies.
During the 19th century, the Gomolka name appeared in various records and documents across different regions of Poland. For instance, in the town of Tarnów, a family of Gomolkas owned a brewery and several properties in the mid-1800s, indicating their economic prominence in the area.
Another individual of note was Franciszek Gomolka (1815-1891), a Polish painter and art teacher who was a prominent figure in the artistic community of Krakow during the 19th century. His works, primarily landscapes and genre scenes, are part of the collections of several Polish museums.
In more recent times, Jerzy Gomolka (1911-1987) was a Polish physicist and academic who made significant contributions to the field of atomic and molecular spectroscopy. He held professorships at various universities and was a member of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gomolka
Among Census respondents with the surname Gomolka, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (0.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Gomolka 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 Gomolka surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.3% · 241
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 11
- Two or more races0.4% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gomolka
Gomolka 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
#71,678
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 272
+9 bearers (+3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.09
Rank movement Down 2,042 places
2020
#80,815
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 253
-19 bearers (-7.0%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Down 9,137 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #69,636 | 263 | 0.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #71,678 | 272 | 0.09 | +9 bearers (+3.4%) | Down 2,042 places |
| 2020 | #80,815 | 253 | 0.08 | -19 bearers (-7.0%) | Down 9,137 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 Gomolka 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 | #71,678 | #80,815 | -12.7% |
| Count | 272 | 253 | -7.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.09 | 0.08 | -6.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gomolka bearers went from 272 to 253 (-7.0% change). The surname moved down 9,137 positions in the national ranking, going from #71,678 to #80,815.
FAQ
Gomolka surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gomolka?
Name Census estimates that about 290 living Americans carry the surname Gomolka. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,181,912 residents.
How common is Gomolka?
Gomolka ranks #80,815 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.08 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 253 people with the surname Gomolka. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (290), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.08 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.08 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 Gomolka.
Has Gomolka become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gomolka went from 272 recorded bearers to 253. That is a decrease of 19 (-7.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #71,678 to #80,815.
What does the Census say about the background of Gomolka?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gomolka, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (0.4%). 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 Gomolka in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.3% (241 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gomolka appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.3%), Hispanic (4.3%), Two or More Races (0.4%). 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 Gomolka (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 Gomolka mean?
A surname of Polish origin meaning "little hill" or "hillock". 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 Gomolka (0.08 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 surname Gomolka?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.