2000
#128,797
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Kamka
A surname derived from the Polish word "kamka," meaning a type of damask fabric.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 123 Americans carry the last name Kamka. That puts it at #151,639 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,786,621 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kamka 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
123
1 in 2,786,621
Census rank
#151,639
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
107
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 107 bearers of the surname Kamka in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 151639th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kamka, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.5%) and Hispanic (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kamka
The surname Kamka is of Polish origin, first appearing in historical records in the late 15th century. The name is derived from the Polish word "kamka," which refers to a type of silk fabric or damask. This suggests that the earliest bearers of this surname may have been involved in the silk trade or textile industry.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Kamka surname can be found in the Polish town of Krakow, where a merchant named Jan Kamka was listed in tax records from the year 1492. The name also appears in church registers from the nearby village of Wieliczka, dating back to the early 16th century.
In the 17th century, the Kamka surname spread to other regions of Poland, including the towns of Poznan and Gdansk. During this time, a notable figure named Stefan Kamka (1621-1687) served as a respected professor of philosophy and theology at the University of Krakow.
As the name continued to proliferate throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, various spellings emerged, such as Kamke, Kamken, and Kamken. In the late 19th century, a Polish-born artist named Wladyslaw Kamka (1859-1926) gained recognition for his landscapes and portraits.
Other individuals of historical significance bearing the Kamka surname include Feliks Kamka (1878-1942), a Polish politician and member of the Sejm (parliament) in the early 20th century, and Ryszard Kamka (1914-1989), a Polish journalist and writer who documented the resistance movement during World War II.
While the Kamka name has its roots in Poland, it has since spread to other parts of Europe and the world through migration and immigration. Notable bearers of the surname include the German mathematician Ernst Kamke (1890-1961), known for his contributions to differential equations, and the American artist and sculptor William Kamka (1917-2012), whose works can be found in numerous public collections.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kamka
Among Census respondents with the surname Kamka, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.5%) and Hispanic (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Kamka 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 Kamka surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.0% · 92
- Two or more races7.5% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 5
- Black or African American1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kamka
Kamka 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
#129,825
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 131
+9 bearers (+7.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,028 places
2020
#151,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
-24 bearers (-18.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 21,814 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #128,797 | 122 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #129,825 | 131 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+7.4%) | Down 1,028 places |
| 2020 | #151,639 | 107 | 0.04 | -24 bearers (-18.3%) | Down 21,814 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 Kamka 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 | #129,825 | #151,639 | -16.8% |
| Count | 131 | 107 | -18.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kamka bearers went from 131 to 107 (-18.3% change). The surname moved down 21,814 positions in the national ranking, going from #129,825 to #151,639.
FAQ
Kamka surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kamka?
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the surname Kamka. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,786,621 residents.
How common is Kamka?
Kamka ranks #151,639 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 107 people with the surname Kamka. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (123), 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 Kamka.
Has Kamka become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kamka went from 131 recorded bearers to 107. That is a decrease of 24 (-18.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #129,825 to #151,639.
What does the Census say about the background of Kamka?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kamka, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.5%) and Hispanic (4.7%). 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 Kamka in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.0% (92 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kamka appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.0%), Two or More Races (7.5%), Hispanic (4.7%). 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 Kamka (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 Kamka mean?
A surname derived from the Polish word "kamka," meaning a type of damask fabric. 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 Kamka (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 Kamka?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Kamka at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.