2000
#10,829
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,702
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.00
Rare Last name
Gutowski
A Polish toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "place of the gusle," a type of Slavic fiddle.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,718 Americans carry the last name Gutowski. That puts it at #12,492 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.79 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 126,105 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gutowski 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 Gutowski with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.7K
1 in 126,105
Census rank
#12,492
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,370 bearers of the surname Gutowski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.79 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12492nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gutowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gutowski
The surname Gutowski is of Polish origin, derived from the Polish word "gut" meaning "estate" or "manor." It is believed to have originated in the 16th or 17th century as a name given to someone who lived on or owned a particular estate or manor.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Gutowski can be found in historical documents and records from various regions of Poland, such as the Wielkopolska and Małopolska regions. The name was often associated with landed gentry and nobility who owned estates in these areas.
In the 18th century, the name Gutowski appeared in several Polish chronicles and manuscripts, including the "Metryka Koronna" (Crown Metrica), which was a collection of official records and documents from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Gutowski was Jan Gutowski, a Polish nobleman who lived in the late 16th century. He was a landowner and held various administrative positions in the region of Wielkopolska.
Another notable figure was Franciszek Gutowski (1725-1805), a Polish military officer and landowner who served in the Polish Army during the reign of King Stanisław August Poniatowski.
The name Gutowski was also associated with the noble Gutowski family, which owned estates in the Kalisz region of Poland. Members of this family included Józef Gutowski (1805-1876), a Polish politician and landowner, and his son, Władysław Gutowski (1829-1900), a renowned Polish writer and translator.
In the 19th century, the name Gutowski spread beyond Poland as Polish immigrants and their descendants settled in other parts of Europe and the Americas. Individuals with this surname can be found in historical records and documents from countries such as Germany, the United States, and Canada.
One notable example from this period is Kazimierz Gutowski (1863-1924), a Polish-American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Gutowski Furniture Company in Chicago, Illinois.
Throughout its history, the surname Gutowski has been associated with various place names and locations in Poland, reflecting the estates and manors from which it originated. These include places like Gutowo, Gutowice, and Gutów, among others.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gutowski
Among Census respondents with the surname Gutowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Gutowski 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 Gutowski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.1% · 2,183
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 85
- Two or more races3.2% · 76
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 8
- Black or African American0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gutowski
Gutowski 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
#11,578
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,715
+13 bearers (+0.5%)
Per 100,000 0.92
Rank movement Down 749 places
2020
#12,492
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,370
-345 bearers (-12.7%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Down 914 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,829 | 2,702 | 1.00 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,578 | 2,715 | 0.92 | +13 bearers (+0.5%) | Down 749 places |
| 2020 | #12,492 | 2,370 | 0.79 | -345 bearers (-12.7%) | Down 914 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 Gutowski 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 | #11,578 | #12,492 | -7.9% |
| Count | 2,715 | 2,370 | -12.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.92 | 0.79 | -13.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gutowski bearers went from 2,715 to 2,370 (-12.7% change). The surname moved down 914 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,578 to #12,492.
FAQ
Gutowski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gutowski?
Name Census estimates that about 2,718 living Americans carry the surname Gutowski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 126,105 residents.
How common is Gutowski?
Gutowski ranks #12,492 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.79 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 2,370 people with the surname Gutowski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,718), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.79 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.79 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 Gutowski.
Has Gutowski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gutowski went from 2,715 recorded bearers to 2,370. That is a decrease of 345 (-12.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,578 to #12,492.
What does the Census say about the background of Gutowski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gutowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Gutowski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.1% (2,183 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gutowski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.1%), Hispanic (3.6%), Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Gutowski (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 Gutowski mean?
A Polish toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "place of the gusle," a type of Slavic fiddle. 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 Gutowski (0.79 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 Gutowski?
Find out how many people have the last name Gutowski on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.