Kaleta last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Kaleta is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Kaleta.

Meaning of Kaleta

A Polish surname possibly derived from the word "kalet" meaning a dirty person or someone living in squalid conditions.

Kaleta, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Kaleta surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kaleta in America

Kaleta is the 26772nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kaleta surname appeared 909 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Kaleta.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kaleta to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 26772 26332 1.66%
Count 909 872 4.15%
Proportion per 100k 0.31 0.32 -3.17%

The history of the last name Kaleta

The surname Kaleta originates from Poland, with records dating back to the 15th century. It is believed to have derived from the Slavic word "kaleta," which means a small pouch or purse. This suggests the name may have initially been associated with professions related to leatherworking or the production of pouches and bags.

In the early years, the surname was primarily concentrated in the regions of Greater Poland and Silesia. Historical documents from the 16th century mention individuals with the name Kaleta residing in towns such as Poznan, Kalisz, and Wroclaw.

One of the earliest known references to the name Kaleta can be found in the Metryka Koronna, a collection of records from the Crown Chancery of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The document, dated 1501, mentions a certain Jan Kaleta from the village of Kościelec.

Another notable mention of the name comes from the "Acta Tomiciana," a collection of diplomatic documents from the 16th century, which includes correspondence between King Sigismund I the Old and a courtier named Mikołaj Kaleta.

In the 17th century, the Kaleta family gained prominence in the town of Bydgoszcz, where a prominent merchant and alderman named Jakub Kaleta (1612-1678) lived and worked.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Kaleta. One such figure was Franciszek Kaleta (1826-1904), a Polish poet and writer who published works in both Polish and German languages.

Another notable bearer of the name was Jan Kaleta (1892-1962), a Polish politician and member of the Sejm (parliament) during the interwar period.

In the 20th century, Władysław Kaleta (1908-1970) was a renowned Polish actor and director, best known for his performances in theater productions and films.

More recently, Kazimierz Kaleta (1936-2008) was a prominent Polish economist and academic, serving as the rector of the Warsaw School of Economics from 1990 to 1996.

Additionally, Aleksander Kaleta (born 1956) is a contemporary Polish politician and member of the European Parliament, representing the Law and Justice party.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kaleta

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Kaleta.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Kaleta was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 94.72% 861
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.88% 8
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 2.53% 23
Hispanic Origin 0.99% 9

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Kaleta has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 94.72% 96.67% -2.04%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.88% 0.92% -4.44%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 2.53% 1.26% 67.02%
Hispanic 0.99% 1.03% -3.96%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Kaleta was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Kaleta, please contact us.

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Kaleta last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/kaleta-surname-popularity/.

"Kaleta last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/kaleta-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Kaleta last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/kaleta-surname-popularity/.

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