2000
#142,819
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Kaplinski
A surname derived from the Polish word "kaplinski" meaning a chaplain or clergyman.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Kaplinski. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kaplinski 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
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Kaplinski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kaplinski, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (2.9%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kaplinski
The surname Kaplinski is of Polish origin, believed to have originated in the 16th or 17th century. It is derived from the Polish word "kaplica," meaning a small chapel or church. This suggests that the name may have been initially given to someone who lived near or worked at a chapel.
The name Kaplinski was prevalent in various regions of Poland, particularly in the central and eastern parts of the country. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in parish records and census documents from the 17th and 18th centuries in areas such as Lublin, Krakow, and Warsaw.
One notable historical figure bearing the Kaplinski name was Jan Kaplinski, a Polish priest and scholar who lived in the late 16th century. He was known for his contributions to the field of theology and his work in translating religious texts into the Polish language.
Another early example is Tomasz Kaplinski, a 17th-century Polish nobleman and landowner from the Lublin region. Records indicate that he owned several estates and played a role in local governance during his lifetime.
In the 19th century, Ignacy Kaplinski was a notable Polish painter and art educator. Born in 1810, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and later became a professor of painting at the same institution.
Towards the end of the 19th century, Bronisław Kaplinski was a Polish mathematician and academic. He made significant contributions to the field of algebraic geometry and held a professorship at the University of Warsaw.
In the early 20th century, Wacław Kaplinski was a Polish politician and activist. He was involved in the Polish independence movement and later served as a member of the Polish parliament during the interwar period.
While the Kaplinski surname has its roots in Poland, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to migration and diaspora communities. However, the name's origins can be traced back to its Polish heritage and the cultural and historical context of the regions where it first emerged.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kaplinski
Among Census respondents with the surname Kaplinski, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (2.9%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Kaplinski 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 Kaplinski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.2% · 98
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.9% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 2
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kaplinski
Kaplinski 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
#157,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-4 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 14,415 places
2020
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
+1 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 3,644 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #142,819 | 107 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #157,234 | 103 | 0.03 | -4 bearers (-3.7%) | Down 14,415 places |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | +1 bearers (+1.0%) | Up 3,644 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 Kaplinski 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 | #157,234 | #153,590 | 2.3% |
| Count | 103 | 104 | 1.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 16.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kaplinski bearers went from 103 to 104 (+1.0% change). The surname moved up 3,644 positions in the national ranking, going from #157,234 to #153,590.
FAQ
Kaplinski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kaplinski?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Kaplinski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Kaplinski?
Kaplinski ranks #153,590 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 104 people with the surname Kaplinski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Kaplinski.
Has Kaplinski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kaplinski went from 103 recorded bearers to 104. That is an increase of 1 (+1.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #157,234 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Kaplinski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kaplinski, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (2.9%) and Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Kaplinski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.2% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kaplinski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.2%), American Indian/Alaska Native (2.9%), Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Kaplinski (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 Kaplinski mean?
A surname derived from the Polish word "kaplinski" meaning a chaplain or clergyman. 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 Kaplinski (0.03 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 Americans have the surname Kaplinski?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.