2000
#120,330
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 133
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Kalski
An occupational surname derived from the Polish word for a metalworker or blacksmith.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 149 Americans carry the last name Kalski. That puts it at #134,631 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,300,365 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kalski 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
149
1 in 2,300,365
Census rank
#134,631
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
130
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 130 bearers of the surname Kalski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 134631st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kalski, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Black (3.1%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kalski
The surname Kalski originated in Poland during the 16th century. It is derived from the Polish root word "kal," which means "mud" or "mire." The name likely referred to someone who lived near a muddy or swampy area, or perhaps someone who worked with mud or clay.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kalski can be found in the Metryka Koronna, a collection of official documents from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, dated around 1560. The name is spelled "Kalski" in these records.
In the 17th century, the name Kalski appeared in the Plock region of central Poland. A prominent figure with this surname was Jan Kalski, a landowner and local official who lived from 1625 to 1692.
The Kalski family was also present in the region of Silesia, which was historically part of Poland but is now located in southwestern Poland and eastern Germany. In the 18th century, a notable Silesian with the surname Kalski was Franciszek Kalski, a Catholic priest and scholar who was born in 1730 and died in 1802.
Another significant person with the surname Kalski was Stanislaw Kalski, a Polish military officer who fought in the November Uprising against Russian rule in the 1830s. He was born in 1805 and died in 1876.
In the 19th century, the name Kalski was found in various regions of Poland, including Galicia (now part of Ukraine) and the Krakow area. One notable individual from this time period was Maria Kalska, a writer and educator born in Krakow in 1858. She was active in the women's rights movement and published several books on education and social issues.
The name Kalski has been associated with various place names in Poland, such as the village of Kalsk in the Masovian Voivodeship, and the town of Kalsko in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. These place names likely share the same root as the surname, referring to muddy or swampy areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kalski
Among Census respondents with the surname Kalski, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Black (3.1%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Kalski 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 Kalski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.3% · 120
- Black or African American3.1% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kalski
Kalski 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
#134,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
-8 bearers (-6.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 14,382 places
2020
#134,631
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 130
+5 bearers (+4.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 81 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #120,330 | 133 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #134,712 | 125 | 0.04 | -8 bearers (-6.0%) | Down 14,382 places |
| 2020 | #134,631 | 130 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.0%) | Up 81 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 Kalski 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 | #134,712 | #134,631 | 0.1% |
| Count | 125 | 130 | 4.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 8.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kalski bearers went from 125 to 130 (+4.0% change). The surname moved up 81 positions in the national ranking, going from #134,712 to #134,631.
FAQ
Kalski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kalski?
Name Census estimates that about 149 living Americans carry the surname Kalski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,300,365 residents.
How common is Kalski?
Kalski ranks #134,631 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 130 people with the surname Kalski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (149), 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 Kalski.
Has Kalski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kalski went from 125 recorded bearers to 130. That is an increase of 5 (+4.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #134,712 to #134,631.
What does the Census say about the background of Kalski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kalski, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Black (3.1%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Kalski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.3% (120 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kalski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.3%), Black (3.1%), Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Kalski (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 Kalski mean?
An occupational surname derived from the Polish word for a metalworker or blacksmith. 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 Kalski (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 have the last name Kalski?
You can see how many Americans have the surname Kalski on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.