2010
#159,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Kleczewski
A Polish surname derived from the word "kłaczek" meaning "twig" or "splinter."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Kleczewski. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kleczewski 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
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Kleczewski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kleczewski, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kleczewski
The surname Kleczewski has its origins in Poland, originating in the late medieval period around the 15th century. It is derived from the Polish word "klecz," which means "pine tree." The name likely referred to someone who lived near or worked with pine trees, such as a forester or logger.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kleczewski can be found in the Akta Grodzkie, a collection of court records from the town of Krakow, dating back to the 16th century. These records mention a certain Jan Kleczewski, who was involved in a legal dispute over land ownership.
The name Kleczewski was also present in the Metryka Koronna, a register of official documents from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which spans from the 15th to the 18th century. In these records, several individuals bearing the Kleczewski name are mentioned, suggesting that the name was well-established in various regions of Poland during this time period.
During the 17th century, the Kleczewski name appears in the records of the Kościół Św. Anny (St. Anne's Church) in Krakow, where several baptisms, marriages, and burials are documented. One notable entry is the baptism of Andrzej Kleczewski in 1678.
In the 18th century, the name Kleczewski can be found in the Teki Dworzaczka, a collection of historical documents compiled by Polish historian Jan Nepomucen Bobrowicz. These documents mention a Michał Kleczewski, who was a prominent landowner and nobleman in the region of Mazovia.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals bearing the Kleczewski surname. One such person was Stanisław Kleczewski (1769-1847), a Polish military officer who fought in the Kościuszko Uprising against Russian and Prussian forces. Another was Józef Kleczewski (1865-1939), a Polish painter and professor of art, known for his landscape and genre paintings.
The name Kleczewski can also be traced to other variations and spellings, such as Kleczowski, Kleczowski, and Klecczewski, which likely stemmed from regional dialects and variations in pronunciation over time.
While the Kleczewski surname may have evolved and spread beyond its original roots in Poland, its history and etymology remain firmly rooted in the country's rich cultural and linguistic traditions, reflecting the connections between names, occupations, and the natural environment.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kleczewski
Among Census respondents with the surname Kleczewski, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Kleczewski 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 Kleczewski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.7% · 100
- Two or more races3.7% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kleczewski
Kleczewski appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
+8 bearers (+7.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 9,507 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #159,712 | 101 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+7.9%) | Up 9,507 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 Kleczewski 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 | #159,712 | #150,205 | 6.0% |
| Count | 101 | 109 | 7.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 21.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kleczewski bearers went from 101 to 109 (+7.9% change). The surname moved up 9,507 positions in the national ranking, going from #159,712 to #150,205.
FAQ
Kleczewski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kleczewski?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Kleczewski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Kleczewski?
Kleczewski ranks #150,205 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 109 people with the surname Kleczewski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), 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 Kleczewski.
Has Kleczewski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kleczewski went from 101 recorded bearers to 109. That is an increase of 8 (+7.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #159,712 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Kleczewski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kleczewski, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%). 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 Kleczewski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kleczewski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.7%), Two or More Races (3.7%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.8%). 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 Kleczewski (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 Kleczewski mean?
A Polish surname derived from the word "kłaczek" meaning "twig" or "splinter." 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 Kleczewski (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 have the surname Kleczewski?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.