2000
#3,637
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,975
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.33
Rare Last name
Grabowski
A Polish habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "hornbeam tree" or "beech tree."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,346 Americans carry the last name Grabowski. That puts it at #4,210 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 36,674 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Grabowski 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 Grabowski with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.3K
1 in 36,674
Census rank
#4,210
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,150 bearers of the surname Grabowski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4210th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Grabowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Grabowski
Among Census respondents with the surname Grabowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Grabowski 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 Grabowski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.1% · 7,671
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 206
- Two or more races2.0% · 167
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 69
- Black or African American0.3% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Grabowski
Grabowski 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
#4,004
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,877
-98 bearers (-1.1%)
Per 100,000 3.01
Rank movement Down 367 places
2020
#4,210
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,150
-727 bearers (-8.2%)
Per 100,000 2.73
Rank movement Down 206 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,637 | 8,975 | 3.33 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,004 | 8,877 | 3.01 | -98 bearers (-1.1%) | Down 367 places |
| 2020 | #4,210 | 8,150 | 2.73 | -727 bearers (-8.2%) | Down 206 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 Grabowski 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 | #4,004 | #4,210 | -5.1% |
| Count | 8,877 | 8,150 | -8.2% |
| Per 100K | 3.01 | 2.73 | -9.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Grabowski bearers went from 8,877 to 8,150 (-8.2% change). The surname moved down 206 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,004 to #4,210.
FAQ
Grabowski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Grabowski?
Name Census estimates that about 9,346 living Americans carry the surname Grabowski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 36,674 residents.
How common is Grabowski?
Grabowski ranks #4,210 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.73 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,150 people with the surname Grabowski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,346), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.73 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Grabowski.
Has Grabowski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Grabowski went from 8,877 recorded bearers to 8,150. That is a decrease of 727 (-8.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,004 to #4,210.
What does the Census say about the background of Grabowski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Grabowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) 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 Grabowski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.1% (7,671 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Grabowski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.1%), Hispanic (2.5%), 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 Grabowski (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 Grabowski mean?
A Polish habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "hornbeam tree" or "beech tree." 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 Grabowski (2.73 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 Grabowski?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Grabowski on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.