2000
#134,037
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Grabowy
A Polish habitational surname derived from the word "grab" meaning hornbeam tree.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Grabowy. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Grabowy 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Grabowy in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Grabowy, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.7%) and Two or More Races (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Grabowy
The surname Grabowy is of Polish origin, derived from the word "grab," which means "hornbeam tree" in Polish. It likely originated as a topographic name for someone living near a hornbeam grove or forest.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname date back to the 16th century in various regions of Poland. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Jan Grabowy, a landowner from the village of Grabowiec in the Lublin region, mentioned in records from 1543.
In the 17th century, the name appeared in historical records from the Wielkopolska region, with a notable figure being Michał Grabowy, a wealthy merchant from Poznań, born in 1612 and recorded as a member of the city's guild of traders.
The surname Grabowy can also be found in old manuscripts and records from the Małopolska region, particularly in the area around Kraków. One such example is Jakub Grabowy, a scribe and copyist who worked for the local church in the town of Bochnia in the late 1600s.
As the name spread across Poland, variations in spelling emerged, including Grabowski, Grabiński, and Grabowicz, which were likely influenced by regional dialects and local pronunciations.
Historically, the Grabowy surname has been associated with several notable individuals. One example is Franciszek Grabowy, a Polish painter and artist born in 1798 in Warsaw, known for his landscapes and portraits of the nobility.
Another prominent figure was Władysław Grabowy, a Polish military officer and strategist who served in the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1921. He was born in 1879 in the town of Łowicz and played a crucial role in several battles during the conflict.
In the 19th century, the Grabowy surname also had a presence in the literary world, with Kazimierz Grabowy, a renowned poet and writer from the city of Lublin, born in 1845. His works often explored themes of nature and rural life in Poland.
While the surname Grabowy is primarily associated with Poland, it has also been found in other Slavic countries, likely due to migration patterns and historical connections between neighboring regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Grabowy
Among Census respondents with the surname Grabowy, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.7%) and Two or More Races (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Grabowy 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 Grabowy surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.4% · 104
- Hispanic or Latino8.7% · 10
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Grabowy
Grabowy 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
#134,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
+9 bearers (+7.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 675 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-10 bearers (-8.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,045 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,037 | 116 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #134,712 | 125 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+7.8%) | Down 675 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-8.0%) | Down 11,045 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 Grabowy 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 | #134,712 | #145,757 | -8.2% |
| Count | 125 | 115 | -8.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Grabowy bearers went from 125 to 115 (-8.0% change). The surname moved down 11,045 positions in the national ranking, going from #134,712 to #145,757.
FAQ
Grabowy surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Grabowy?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Grabowy. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Grabowy?
Grabowy ranks #145,757 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 115 people with the surname Grabowy. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), 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 Grabowy.
Has Grabowy become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Grabowy went from 125 recorded bearers to 115. That is a decrease of 10 (-8.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #134,712 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Grabowy?
Among Census respondents with the surname Grabowy, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.7%) and Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Grabowy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.4% (104 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Grabowy appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.4%), Hispanic (8.7%), Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Grabowy (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 Grabowy mean?
A Polish habitational surname derived from the word "grab" meaning hornbeam 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 Grabowy (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 common is the surname Grabowy?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Grabowy at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.