Kawa last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Kawa is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Kawa.

Meaning of Kawa

A toponym surname referring to someone from a place called Kawa.

Kawa, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Kawa surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kawa in America

Kawa is the 21811th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kawa surname appeared 1,192 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Kawa.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kawa to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 21811 22011 -0.91%
Count 1,192 1,098 8.21%
Proportion per 100k 0.40 0.41 -2.47%

The history of the last name Kawa

The surname KAWA is believed to have originated in Poland, with its earliest known records dating back to the 16th century. The name is derived from the Polish word "kawa," which means "coffee." This suggests that the name may have been associated with individuals involved in the coffee trade or cultivation during that time period.

One of the earliest known references to the KAWA surname can be found in the Metryka Koronna (Crown Register) of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, where a certain Jan KAWA was listed as a landowner in the region of Lesser Poland (Małopolska) in the mid-1500s.

In the 17th century, there are records of a prominent KAWA family residing in the town of Kraków, which was a major center of trade and commerce in those days. Notable members of this family included Michał KAWA (1620-1695), a successful merchant and landowner, and his son, Jakub KAWA (1657-1722), who served as a city councilor in Kraków.

During the 18th century, the KAWA name spread to other regions of Poland, with mentions of the surname appearing in various parish records and historical documents. One notable figure from this period was Franciszek KAWA (1745-1818), a scholar and philosopher who taught at the University of Kraków.

In the 19th century, the KAWA surname gained further recognition with the birth of Jan KAWA (1825-1890), a renowned Polish writer and poet who is considered one of the foremost representatives of the Polish Romantic literary movement.

Another significant figure bearing the KAWA surname was Józef KAWA (1868-1938), a Polish engineer and inventor who made significant contributions to the development of early aviation technology. He is credited with designing and constructing one of the first successful gliders in Poland.

Throughout the centuries, the KAWA surname has been associated with various occupations and professions, including merchants, landowners, intellectuals, artists, and engineers. While its origins can be traced back to Poland, the name has since spread to other parts of the world due to migration and diaspora.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kawa

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Kawa.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Kawa was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 85.07% 1,014
Non-Hispanic Black Only 3.69% 44
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 6.54% 78
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.84% 10
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.93% 23
Hispanic Origin 1.93% 23

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Kawa has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 85.07% 88.43% -3.87%
Black 3.69% 1.82% 67.88%
Asian and Pacific Islander 6.54% 6.28% 4.06%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.84% 0.55% 41.73%
Two or More Races 1.93% 1.64% 16.25%
Hispanic 1.93% 1.28% 40.50%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Kawa was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Kawa, please contact us.

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Kawa last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/kawa-surname-popularity/.

"Kawa last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/kawa-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Kawa last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/kawa-surname-popularity/.

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