2000
#128,797
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Kawleski
A Polish surname derived from the word "kawaleć" meaning a small piece or fragment.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Kawleski. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kawleski 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Kawleski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kawleski, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kawleski
The surname Kawleski is of Polish origin, and it is believed to have originated in the region of Silesia, which was once part of the Kingdom of Poland. The name is derived from the Polish word "kawałek," which means "a small piece" or "a fragment." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who owned or worked on a small piece of land or property.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Kawleski date back to the 16th century. In 1592, a document from the town of Wrocław (then known as Breslau) mentions a man named Michał Kawleski, who was a landowner and a member of the local nobility. Another early record comes from the town of Opole in 1607, where a man named Jan Kawleski is listed as a merchant and trader.
Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the name Kawleski appeared in various historical records and documents across Silesia and other parts of Poland. One notable individual was Ignacy Kawleski, a Polish military officer who fought in the Polish-Russian War of 1792. He was born in 1765 and died in 1830.
In the 19th century, the name Kawleski became more widespread, with families bearing this surname found in various regions of Poland, as well as in areas that were once part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, such as present-day Belarus and Ukraine. One famous person with this surname was Władysław Kawleski, a Polish journalist and writer who was born in 1846 and died in 1915.
Another notable individual was Józef Kawleski, a Polish composer and conductor who lived from 1869 to 1938. He was known for his contributions to the development of Polish music and for his work in promoting the works of other Polish composers.
In the early 20th century, the name Kawleski continued to be found in various parts of Poland and neighboring regions. One notable person was Maria Kawleski, a Polish educator and activist who was born in 1892 and died in 1968. She was known for her work in promoting education and women's rights in Poland.
It is worth noting that the spelling of the name Kawleski has remained relatively consistent over time, although variations such as Kawalesky or Kavalesky have been observed in some historical records, particularly those in areas where Polish was not the primary language.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kawleski
Among Census respondents with the surname Kawleski, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Kawleski 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 Kawleski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.1% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kawleski
Kawleski 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
#124,548
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 138
+16 bearers (+13.1%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 4,249 places
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-35 bearers (-25.4%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 29,634 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 | #124,548 | 138 | 0.05 | +16 bearers (+13.1%) | Up 4,249 places |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | -35 bearers (-25.4%) | Down 29,634 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 Kawleski 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 | #124,548 | #154,182 | -23.8% |
| Count | 138 | 103 | -25.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.03 | -31.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kawleski bearers went from 138 to 103 (-25.4% change). The surname moved down 29,634 positions in the national ranking, going from #124,548 to #154,182.
FAQ
Kawleski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kawleski?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Kawleski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Kawleski?
Kawleski ranks #154,182 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 103 people with the surname Kawleski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), 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 Kawleski.
Has Kawleski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kawleski went from 138 recorded bearers to 103. That is a decrease of 35 (-25.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #124,548 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Kawleski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kawleski, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%). 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 Kawleski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.1% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kawleski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.1%), Hispanic (1.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%). 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 Kawleski (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 Kawleski mean?
A Polish surname derived from the word "kawaleć" meaning a small piece or fragment. 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 Kawleski (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 people have the last name Kawleski?
See how many people have the last name Kawleski on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.