2000
#140,756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Karpiel
A Polish surname derived from the word "karp" meaning carp, referring to a fish farmer or someone associated with fishing.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Karpiel. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Karpiel 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Karpiel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Karpiel, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Black (2.6%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Karpiel
The surname Karpiel is of Polish origin, derived from the word "karp" meaning "carp," the freshwater fish. It is believed to have originated in the 14th or 15th century as a descriptive name for someone who lived near a body of water teeming with carp or someone who made a living catching or selling carp.
The earliest known recorded instance of the surname Karpiel dates back to the late 15th century, when a Jan Karpiel was mentioned in a registry of landowners in the town of Krakow, Poland. Another early record comes from the year 1502, when a Marcin Karpiel was listed as a resident of the village of Rybie, which translates to "Fish Town," near the city of Bydgoszcz.
In the 16th century, the surname appeared in various spellings such as Karpel, Karpiell, and Karpijel, reflecting the phonetic variations common in that era. The name was particularly prevalent in the regions of Lesser Poland, Silesia, and Pomerania.
One notable individual bearing the Karpiel surname was Jakub Karpiel, a wealthy merchant and landowner who lived in the town of Wieliczka in the late 16th century. He was known for his successful salt trade business and for his patronage of the local church.
In the 17th century, the name Karpiel appeared in the records of the city of Gdansk (Danzig), where a Tomasz Karpiel was listed as a member of the city council in 1625.
Another significant figure was Jan Karpiel, a Polish soldier who fought in the Polish-Swedish War of 1655-1660. He was commended for his bravery in the Battle of Warsaw in 1656 and was later awarded land grants by King Jan Kazimierz.
As the centuries passed, the Karpiel surname spread across Poland and into other parts of Eastern Europe, with variations in spelling such as Karpjel and Karpielo. It was also adopted by Jewish families who sought to assimilate into Polish society by taking on Polish-sounding surnames.
Among the more recent bearers of the Karpiel name was Wladyslaw Karpiel, a Polish sculptor and artist who lived from 1854 to 1920. He is known for his intricate wood carvings and sculptures depicting scenes from Polish folklore and history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Karpiel
Among Census respondents with the surname Karpiel, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Black (2.6%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Karpiel 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 Karpiel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.7% · 111
- Black or African American2.6% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Karpiel
Karpiel 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
#140,157
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
+10 bearers (+9.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 599 places
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
-3 bearers (-2.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,871 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #140,756 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #140,157 | 119 | 0.04 | +10 bearers (+9.2%) | Up 599 places |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.5%) | Down 4,871 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 Karpiel 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 | #140,157 | #145,028 | -3.5% |
| Count | 119 | 116 | -2.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Karpiel bearers went from 119 to 116 (-2.5% change). The surname moved down 4,871 positions in the national ranking, going from #140,157 to #145,028.
FAQ
Karpiel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Karpiel?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Karpiel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Karpiel?
Karpiel ranks #145,028 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 116 people with the surname Karpiel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), 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 Karpiel.
Has Karpiel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Karpiel went from 119 recorded bearers to 116. That is a decrease of 3 (-2.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #140,157 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Karpiel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Karpiel, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Black (2.6%) and Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Karpiel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.7% (111 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Karpiel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.7%), Black (2.6%), Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Karpiel (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 Karpiel mean?
A Polish surname derived from the word "karp" meaning carp, referring to a fish farmer or someone associated with fishing. 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 Karpiel (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 share the surname Karpiel?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.