2000
#128,797
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Karkowski
A Polish surname derived from a place name referring to Karkowo, Poland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Karkowski. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Karkowski 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Karkowski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Karkowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Black (1.7%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Karkowski
The surname Karkowski is of Polish origin, with its roots tracing back to the 16th century. Originally, it was derived from the Polish word "karki," which means "nape" or "back of the neck." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone with a distinctive physical feature or occupation related to the neck or back area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Karkowski can be found in the Polish town of Krakow, where a merchant named Jan Karkowski is mentioned in local records from the late 1500s. During this time, the name was also sometimes spelled as "Karkowsky" or "Karkowskie."
In the 17th century, the Karkowski name appeared in various Polish chronicles and historical documents, indicating the family's involvement in local affairs. For instance, a nobleman named Waclaw Karkowski is mentioned as a landowner in the village of Wola Karkowska, located in the Lublin region of eastern Poland.
As the Karkowski family spread across different regions of Poland, the name took on various local spellings and variations. In the 18th century, records from the town of Poznan mention a merchant named Kazimierz Karkowski, while in the Silesian region, the name was sometimes written as "Karkowsky."
Throughout its history, the Karkowski surname has been associated with several notable individuals. One such figure was Andrzej Karkowski, a Polish priest and philosopher who lived in the late 16th century and authored several theological works. Another prominent Karkowski was Franciszek Karkowski, a 19th-century Polish painter known for his landscape and portrait works.
In the 20th century, the name gained recognition through the accomplishments of Jerzy Karkowski, a Polish athlete who competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics as a long-distance runner. Additionally, Janusz Karkowski, a Polish film director and screenwriter, gained critical acclaim for his contributions to the Polish cinema in the latter half of the 20th century.
While the Karkowski surname may have originated from a specific region or occupation in Poland, it has since spread across the globe, with individuals bearing this name making their mark in various fields, from academia to the arts and beyond.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Karkowski
Among Census respondents with the surname Karkowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Black (1.7%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Karkowski 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 Karkowski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.7% · 110
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Karkowski
Karkowski 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
#145,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-8 bearers (-6.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 16,423 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
+1 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 537 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 | #145,220 | 114 | 0.04 | -8 bearers (-6.6%) | Down 16,423 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 537 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 Karkowski 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 | #145,220 | #145,757 | -0.4% |
| Count | 114 | 115 | 0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Karkowski bearers went from 114 to 115 (+0.9% change). The surname moved down 537 positions in the national ranking, going from #145,220 to #145,757.
FAQ
Karkowski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Karkowski?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Karkowski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Karkowski?
Karkowski ranks #145,757 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 115 people with the surname Karkowski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), 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 Karkowski.
Has Karkowski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Karkowski went from 114 recorded bearers to 115. That is an increase of 1 (+0.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #145,220 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Karkowski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Karkowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Black (1.7%) and Hispanic (1.7%). 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 Karkowski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.7% (110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Karkowski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.7%), Black (1.7%), Hispanic (1.7%). 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 Karkowski (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 Karkowski mean?
A Polish surname derived from a place name referring to Karkowo, Poland. 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 Karkowski (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 Americans have the surname Karkowski?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.