2000
#121,780
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 131
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Kaczinski
A Polish surname derived from the word "kaczka" meaning "duck".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 130 Americans carry the last name Kaczinski. That puts it at #147,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,636,572 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kaczinski 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
130
1 in 2,636,572
Census rank
#147,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
113
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 113 bearers of the surname Kaczinski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kaczinski, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kaczinski
The surname Kaczinski originated in Poland, with its earliest recorded instances appearing in the late 16th century. It is derived from the Polish word "kaczka," meaning "duck," and likely originated as a descriptive surname referring to someone who worked with ducks or lived near a body of water frequented by ducks.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the surname can be found in a 1598 census record from the town of Krakow, where a man named Jan Kaczinski was listed as a resident. Over the following centuries, variations in spelling emerged, including Kaczinsky, Kaczynski, and Kaczinsky.
In the 17th century, the Kaczinski name appeared in several historical records from the Galicia region of Poland, which was then part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. A notable figure from this era was Jerzy Kaczinski, a Polish nobleman and landowner born in 1642 who played a role in local politics and served as a magistrate in the town of Tarnow.
As the Kaczinski family spread across Poland and into neighboring regions, the name became associated with various place names, including the village of Kaczyn in the Lublin region. In the 19th century, a prominent member of the family was Wladyslaw Kaczinski, a Polish writer and poet born in 1824 who published several collections of verse and was known for his patriotic themes.
Other notable individuals with the Kaczinski surname include:
1. Franciszek Kaczinski (1766-1832), a Polish military officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars and later served as a general in the Polish Army.
2. Henryk Kaczinski (1888-1962), a Polish architect who designed several notable buildings in Warsaw and was known for his neo-Renaissance and Art Nouveau styles.
3. Lech Kaczinski (1949-2010), a Polish lawyer and politician who served as the President of Poland from 2005 until his tragic death in a plane crash in 2010.
4. Jaroslaw Kaczinski (born 1949), the twin brother of Lech Kaczinski and a prominent Polish politician who served as the Prime Minister of Poland from 2006 to 2007.
5. Theodore Kaczynski (born 1942), an American mathematician and academic who became known as the "Unabomber" for a series of mail bombings he carried out between 1978 and 1995.
While the Kaczinski surname has its roots in Poland, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and Australia, through immigration and diaspora communities.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kaczinski
Among Census respondents with the surname Kaczinski, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Kaczinski 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 Kaczinski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.2% · 111
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kaczinski
Kaczinski 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
#144,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-16 bearers (-12.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 22,361 places
2020
#147,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-2 bearers (-1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,080 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #121,780 | 131 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #144,141 | 115 | 0.04 | -16 bearers (-12.2%) | Down 22,361 places |
| 2020 | #147,221 | 113 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.7%) | Down 3,080 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 Kaczinski 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 | #144,141 | #147,221 | -2.1% |
| Count | 115 | 113 | -1.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kaczinski bearers went from 115 to 113 (-1.7% change). The surname moved down 3,080 positions in the national ranking, going from #144,141 to #147,221.
FAQ
Kaczinski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kaczinski?
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the surname Kaczinski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,636,572 residents.
How common is Kaczinski?
Kaczinski ranks #147,221 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 113 people with the surname Kaczinski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (130), 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 Kaczinski.
Has Kaczinski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kaczinski went from 115 recorded bearers to 113. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #144,141 to #147,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Kaczinski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kaczinski, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (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 Kaczinski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.2% (111 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kaczinski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.2%), Hispanic (0.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (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 Kaczinski (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 Kaczinski mean?
A Polish surname derived from the word "kaczka" meaning "duck". 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 Kaczinski (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 many people are called Kaczinski?
You can see how many people are called Kaczinski on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.