2000
#7,782
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,937
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.46
Rare Last name
Kaczmarek
A Polish occupational surname referring to an innkeeper or a person who owned or managed an inn.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,364 Americans carry the last name Kaczmarek. That puts it at #8,328 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.27 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 78,541 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kaczmarek 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 Kaczmarek with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.4K
1 in 78,541
Census rank
#8,328
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,806 bearers of the surname Kaczmarek in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.27 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8328th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kaczmarek, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kaczmarek
The surname Kaczmarek originated in Poland during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Polish word "kaczmar," which means a duck breeder or someone who raised ducks for a living. The name likely referred to an occupation or a place where ducks were bred.
Kaczmarek is considered a habitational name, meaning it was given to people based on where they lived or the type of place they inhabited. The earliest known record of the name dates back to the 14th century in the Polish town of Kaczmarki, located in the region of Greater Poland.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Kaczmarek can be found in the Tarnów land records from the year 1428, where a man named Jan Kaczmarek is mentioned as a landowner. Another early reference is in the Płock land records from 1470, which mentions a Jakub Kaczmarek.
In the 16th century, the name Kaczmarek appeared in the Liber Beneficiorum, a historical document that recorded the names of church benefices and their holders. One notable individual recorded was Maciej Kaczmarek, who was the rector of the church in Niedrzwica Duża in 1529.
During the 17th century, a prominent figure with the surname Kaczmarek was Andrzej Kaczmarek (1630-1705), a Polish writer and historian who authored several works on the history of Poland and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Another notable person with this surname was Józef Kaczmarek (1814-1888), a Polish mathematician and engineer who made significant contributions to the field of descriptive geometry and its applications in engineering.
In the 20th century, one of the most famous individuals with the surname Kaczmarek was Zdzisław Kaczmarek (1923-2005), a Polish film director and screenwriter known for his award-winning films such as "Ostatni Dzień Lata" (The Last Day of Summer) and "Zaklęte Rewiry" (The Enchanted Hunting Grounds).
While the name Kaczmarek is most commonly associated with Poland, it has also spread to other parts of the world due to immigration. However, its origins and historical significance remain deeply rooted in Polish culture and history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kaczmarek
Among Census respondents with the surname Kaczmarek, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Kaczmarek 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 Kaczmarek surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.5% · 3,558
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 136
- Two or more races2.0% · 76
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 23
- Black or African American0.2% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kaczmarek
Kaczmarek 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
#8,184
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,052
+115 bearers (+2.9%)
Per 100,000 1.37
Rank movement Down 402 places
2020
#8,328
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,806
-246 bearers (-6.1%)
Per 100,000 1.27
Rank movement Down 144 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,782 | 3,937 | 1.46 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,184 | 4,052 | 1.37 | +115 bearers (+2.9%) | Down 402 places |
| 2020 | #8,328 | 3,806 | 1.27 | -246 bearers (-6.1%) | Down 144 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 Kaczmarek 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 | #8,184 | #8,328 | -1.8% |
| Count | 4,052 | 3,806 | -6.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.37 | 1.27 | -7.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kaczmarek bearers went from 4,052 to 3,806 (-6.1% change). The surname moved down 144 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,184 to #8,328.
FAQ
Kaczmarek surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kaczmarek?
Name Census estimates that about 4,364 living Americans carry the surname Kaczmarek. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 78,541 residents.
How common is Kaczmarek?
Kaczmarek ranks #8,328 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.27 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 3,806 people with the surname Kaczmarek. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,364), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.27 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.27 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 Kaczmarek.
Has Kaczmarek become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kaczmarek went from 4,052 recorded bearers to 3,806. That is a decrease of 246 (-6.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,184 to #8,328.
What does the Census say about the background of Kaczmarek?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kaczmarek, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) 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 Kaczmarek in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (3,558 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kaczmarek appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.5%), Hispanic (3.6%), 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 Kaczmarek (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 Kaczmarek mean?
A Polish occupational surname referring to an innkeeper or a person who owned or managed an inn. 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 Kaczmarek (1.27 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 Kaczmarek?
See how many people have the last name Kaczmarek on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.