Find out how popular the last name Grabowski is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Grabowski.

Grabowski, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Grabowski surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Grabowski in America

Grabowski is the 4004th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Grabowski surname appeared 8,877 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Grabowski.

We can also compare 2010 data for Grabowski to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Grabowski

The surname Grabowski originated in Poland and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Polish word "grab," which means hornbeam or a type of tree. The name was likely given to someone who lived near a hornbeam grove or was associated with the wood from this tree.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Grabowski name can be found in a 14th-century document from the town of Krakow, where a person named Jan Grabowski was listed as a landowner. The name also appears in various medieval records and manuscripts from other regions of Poland, such as the area around modern-day Poznan.

In the 16th century, the Grabowski family gained prominence in the Polish nobility. Stanislaw Grabowski, born in 1542, was a notable figure who served as a diplomat and advisor to King Sigismund III Vasa. Another influential member of the family was Jakub Grabowski, who lived from 1609 to 1689 and was a respected military commander during the Polish-Swedish wars.

The Grabowski name has also been associated with several notable scholars and writers throughout history. Mikołaj Grabowski, born in 1781, was a renowned historian and author who wrote extensively on the history of Poland. Bronisław Grabowski, born in 1841, was a renowned linguist and philologist who made significant contributions to the study of Slavic languages.

During the 19th century, the Grabowski surname spread beyond Poland due to emigration. One notable figure was Tadeusz Grabowski, born in 1871, who emigrated to the United States and became a prominent figure in the Polish-American community in Chicago. He was an advocate for Polish independence and played a role in organizing support for the cause.

Another notable bearer of the Grabowski name was Maria Grabowski, a Polish activist and educator who lived from 1908 to 1988. She was involved in the Polish resistance movement during World War II and later worked tirelessly to promote education and cultural preservation among Polish communities abroad.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Grabowski

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Grabowski.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Grabowski was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Grabowski has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Grabowski was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Grabowski, please contact us.

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