2000
#13,256
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,111
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.78
Rare Last name
Jurek
Derived from the Polish given name Jerzy, a cognate of George, meaning "farmer" or "earth-worker."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,404 Americans carry the last name Jurek. That puts it at #13,805 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.70 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 142,577 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Jurek 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 Jurek with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.4K
1 in 142,577
Census rank
#13,805
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,096 bearers of the surname Jurek in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.70 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13805th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Jurek, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Jurek
The surname JUREK is of Polish origin, derived from the personal name Jerzy, which is the Polish form of George. The name can be traced back to the 12th century in Poland.
The earliest known recorded instance of the name JUREK dates back to the 14th century, appearing in a document from the town of Krakow. At that time, the name was spelled "Yurek" or "Iurek," which was a common spelling variation in medieval Poland.
In the 15th century, the name JUREK was found in various historical records from the regions of Silesia and Greater Poland. Some of these records include mentions of individuals with the surname, such as Jan Jurek, a merchant from Poznan who lived in the late 1400s.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the JUREK surname became more widespread across Poland, particularly in the central and southern regions. Notable individuals from this period include Marcin Jurek, a Catholic priest and scholar born in 1587 in Krakow, and Jakub Jurek, a military officer who fought in the Polish-Swedish Wars of the mid-17th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the JUREK surname outside of Poland dates back to the late 17th century, when a family with the name settled in the city of Vilnius, which was then part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the JUREK surname continued to be prevalent in Polish communities, with several notable figures bearing the name. These include Stanisław Jurek, a Polish revolutionary who participated in the November Uprising against Russian rule in 1830, and Józef Jurek, a painter and artist born in 1853 in Kraków.
Other historical figures with the JUREK surname include Kazimierz Jurek (1871-1942), a Polish politician and member of the Sejm (parliament) in the early 20th century, and Józef Jurek (1888-1945), a Catholic priest and resistance fighter during World War II.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jurek
Among Census respondents with the surname Jurek, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Jurek 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 Jurek surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.8% · 1,965
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 57
- Two or more races2.7% · 57
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 12
- Black or African American0.1% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Jurek
Jurek 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
#12,961
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,370
+259 bearers (+12.3%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Up 295 places
2020
#13,805
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,096
-274 bearers (-11.6%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Down 844 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,256 | 2,111 | 0.78 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,961 | 2,370 | 0.80 | +259 bearers (+12.3%) | Up 295 places |
| 2020 | #13,805 | 2,096 | 0.70 | -274 bearers (-11.6%) | Down 844 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 Jurek 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 | #12,961 | #13,805 | -6.5% |
| Count | 2,370 | 2,096 | -11.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.80 | 0.70 | -12.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Jurek bearers went from 2,370 to 2,096 (-11.6% change). The surname moved down 844 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,961 to #13,805.
FAQ
Jurek surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Jurek?
Name Census estimates that about 2,404 living Americans carry the surname Jurek. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 142,577 residents.
How common is Jurek?
Jurek ranks #13,805 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.70 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 2,096 people with the surname Jurek. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,404), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.7 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.70 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 Jurek.
Has Jurek become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Jurek went from 2,370 recorded bearers to 2,096. That is a decrease of 274 (-11.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,961 to #13,805.
What does the Census say about the background of Jurek?
Among Census respondents with the surname Jurek, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Jurek in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.8% (1,965 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Jurek appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.8%), Hispanic (2.7%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Jurek (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 Jurek mean?
Derived from the Polish given name Jerzy, a cognate of George, meaning "farmer" or "earth-worker." 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 Jurek (0.70 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 Jurek?
See how many people have the surname Jurek on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.