2000
#10,400
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,840
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.05
Rare Last name
Karpinski
A Polish toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "belonging to Karp" or "of Karp."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,906 Americans carry the last name Karpinski. That puts it at #11,813 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.85 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 117,947 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Karpinski 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Karpinski with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.9K
1 in 117,947
Census rank
#11,813
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,534 bearers of the surname Karpinski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.85 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11813th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Karpinski, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Karpinski
The surname Karpinski originated in Poland, where it first appeared in the 16th century. It is a Polish habitational name derived from the place name Karpin or Karpiny, which is derived from the Slavic root word "karp" meaning "carp" or "carp fish". This suggests that the name may have referred to someone who lived near a body of water populated by carp or someone who was a fisherman specializing in catching carp.
The earliest known record of the Karpinski surname can be found in the "Akta Metrykalne" (Metrical Records) of the town of Kielce, Poland, from the year 1564. The entry mentions a certain "Maciej Karpinski", who was likely one of the first to bear this surname.
In the 17th century, the Karpinski name can be found in various Polish records, such as the "Księgi Metrykalne" (Parish Registers) of the towns of Krakow and Poznan. One notable bearer of this surname from this period was Jan Karpinski (1580-1653), a Polish poet and writer who is considered one of the foremost representatives of Polish Renaissance literature.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Karpinski surname spread throughout Poland and into other parts of Eastern Europe, particularly Russia and Ukraine. A famous bearer of this name was Franciszek Karpinski (1741-1825), a Polish poet, playwright, and fabulist who is often referred to as the "Polish La Fontaine".
Another notable Karpinski was Wacław Karpinski (1809-1847), a Polish mathematician and educator who made significant contributions to the field of algebraic geometry. He is best known for his work on the theory of algebraic curves and surfaces.
In the 20th century, one of the most prominent individuals with the Karpinski surname was Jakub Karpinski (1927-2010), a Polish mathematician and computer scientist who is considered a pioneer in the field of computational complexity theory. He made important contributions to the study of NP-complete problems and the development of efficient algorithms.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Karpinski
Among Census respondents with the surname Karpinski, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Karpinski 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 Karpinski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.9% · 2,380
- Two or more races3.0% · 76
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 51
- Black or African American0.5% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Karpinski
Karpinski 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
#11,516
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,731
-109 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.93
Rank movement Down 1,116 places
2020
#11,813
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,534
-197 bearers (-7.2%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Down 297 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,400 | 2,840 | 1.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,516 | 2,731 | 0.93 | -109 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 1,116 places |
| 2020 | #11,813 | 2,534 | 0.85 | -197 bearers (-7.2%) | Down 297 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 Karpinski 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 | #11,516 | #11,813 | -2.6% |
| Count | 2,731 | 2,534 | -7.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.93 | 0.85 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Karpinski bearers went from 2,731 to 2,534 (-7.2% change). The surname moved down 297 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,516 to #11,813.
FAQ
Karpinski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Karpinski?
Name Census estimates that about 2,906 living Americans carry the surname Karpinski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 117,947 residents.
How common is Karpinski?
Karpinski ranks #11,813 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.85 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,534 people with the surname Karpinski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,906), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.85 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.85 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Karpinski.
Has Karpinski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Karpinski went from 2,731 recorded bearers to 2,534. That is a decrease of 197 (-7.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,516 to #11,813.
What does the Census say about the background of Karpinski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Karpinski, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Karpinski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.9% (2,380 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Karpinski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.9%), Two or More Races (3.0%), Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Karpinski (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 Karpinski mean?
A Polish toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "belonging to Karp" or "of Karp." 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 Karpinski (0.85 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 Karpinski?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.