2000
#133,114
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Kolesa
A surname of Slavic origin possibly derived from "koleso" meaning wheel.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 120 Americans carry the last name Kolesa. That puts it at #152,989 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,856,286 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kolesa 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
120
1 in 2,856,286
Census rank
#152,989
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
105
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 105 bearers of the surname Kolesa in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152989th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kolesa, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.8%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kolesa
The surname KOLESA has its origins in Eastern Europe, specifically in the Slavic regions of present-day Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus. It is believed to have emerged during the medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. The name is derived from the Slavic word "koleso," which translates to "wheel" in English.
One theory suggests that the name KOLESA may have been initially associated with individuals who were involved in the production or repair of wheels, such as wheelwrights or cartwrights. In those times, skilled craftspeople often adopted surnames related to their trades or professions.
Historical records from the region have revealed several early mentions of the name KOLESA. For instance, in a document dated 1427 from the town of Lviv, in present-day Ukraine, a certain Iwan Kolesa is listed as a landowner. Another notable reference is found in the archives of the city of Krakow, Poland, where a merchant named Mikolaj Kolesa is recorded as having conducted business transactions in the late 15th century.
One of the earliest documented individuals with the surname KOLESA was Jan Kolesa, a Polish nobleman who lived in the 16th century. He was born around 1520 and served as a military commander during the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth's conflicts with neighboring powers.
In the 17th century, a prominent figure bearing the name KOLESA was Andrzej Kolesa, a renowned scholar and professor of philosophy at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. He was born in 1612 and authored several influential works on ethics and metaphysics.
Another notable individual was Stanislaw Kolesa, a Polish patriot and military officer who fought against the Russian Empire during the November Uprising of 1830-1831. He was born in 1795 and died in 1841 after being captured and imprisoned by the Russian authorities.
In the 19th century, a prominent figure with the surname KOLESA was Maksym Kolesa, a Ukrainian writer and poet who played a significant role in the revival of Ukrainian literature and culture. He was born in 1843 and is widely regarded as one of the founders of modern Ukrainian literature.
It is worth noting that variations of the name KOLESA can be found across different Slavic languages, such as Koleso in Russian, Koleso in Bulgarian, and Kolesa in Czech and Slovak. These variations stem from the shared linguistic roots and the widespread use of the term "wheel" in these languages.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kolesa
Among Census respondents with the surname Kolesa, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.8%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Kolesa 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 Kolesa surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.4% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino4.8% · 5
- Two or more races1.9% · 2
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kolesa
Kolesa 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
#141,140
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+1 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,026 places
2020
#152,989
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
-13 bearers (-11.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,849 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #133,114 | 117 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #141,140 | 118 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 8,026 places |
| 2020 | #152,989 | 105 | 0.04 | -13 bearers (-11.0%) | Down 11,849 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 Kolesa 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 | #141,140 | #152,989 | -8.4% |
| Count | 118 | 105 | -11.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -12.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kolesa bearers went from 118 to 105 (-11.0% change). The surname moved down 11,849 positions in the national ranking, going from #141,140 to #152,989.
FAQ
Kolesa surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kolesa?
Name Census estimates that about 120 living Americans carry the surname Kolesa. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,856,286 residents.
How common is Kolesa?
Kolesa ranks #152,989 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 105 people with the surname Kolesa. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (120), 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 Kolesa.
Has Kolesa become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kolesa went from 118 recorded bearers to 105. That is a decrease of 13 (-11.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #141,140 to #152,989.
What does the Census say about the background of Kolesa?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kolesa, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.8%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Kolesa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kolesa appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.4%), Hispanic (4.8%), Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Kolesa (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 Kolesa mean?
A surname of Slavic origin possibly derived from "koleso" meaning wheel. 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 Kolesa (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 common is the surname Kolesa?
See how many people are called Kolesa on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.