2000
#15,880
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,682
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.62
Rare Last name
Komar
A surname of Slavic origin, potentially derived from the word for a mosquito or gnat.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,892 Americans carry the last name Komar. That puts it at #16,850 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.55 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 181,160 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Komar 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 Komar with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.9K
1 in 181,160
Census rank
#16,850
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,650 bearers of the surname Komar in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.55 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 16850th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Komar, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Komar
The surname KOMAR is of Slavic origin, with its roots traceable to the region now known as Poland and parts of modern-day Ukraine. The name is believed to have emerged sometime during the Middle Ages, derived from the Slavic word "komar," meaning "mosquito" or "gnat."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the KOMAR surname can be found in the Akty Grodzkie i Ziemskie, a collection of official records from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth dating back to the 15th century. These records document individuals bearing the KOMAR name in various administrative and legal contexts.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the KOMAR surname gained prominence in the regions of Volhynia and Podolia, which were part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at the time. Notable individuals from this period include Jan KOMAR (c. 1560-1630), a prominent landowner and military commander who fought in the Polish-Muscovite War.
As the centuries progressed, the KOMAR surname spread across Eastern and Central Europe, with bearers of the name settling in areas such as modern-day Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia. One noteworthy figure was Mikhail KOMAR (1783-1853), a Russian artist renowned for his landscape paintings and portraiture.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the KOMAR surname found its way to the United States and other parts of the world through immigration. One such individual was Vitold KOMAR (1885-1962), a Polish-American engineer and inventor who held numerous patents in the field of aviation technology.
Another significant figure was Meir KOMAR (1904-1984), an Israeli politician and one of the signatories of the Israeli Declaration of Independence. He served as a member of the Knesset (Israeli parliament) and held various ministerial positions throughout his career.
Other notable individuals with the KOMAR surname include Valery KOMAR (1936-2010), a Ukrainian-American artist known for his contributions to the Conceptual Art movement, and Stanislav KOMAR (born 1964), a Russian-American artist and filmmaker who collaborated with his partner, Vitaly Komar, on numerous artistic projects.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Komar
Among Census respondents with the surname Komar, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Komar 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 Komar surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.9% · 1,517
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 45
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 43
- Two or more races1.8% · 29
- Black or African American0.7% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Komar
Komar 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
#16,900
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,685
+3 bearers (+0.2%)
Per 100,000 0.57
Rank movement Down 1,020 places
2020
#16,850
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,650
-35 bearers (-2.1%)
Per 100,000 0.55
Rank movement Up 50 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,880 | 1,682 | 0.62 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,900 | 1,685 | 0.57 | +3 bearers (+0.2%) | Down 1,020 places |
| 2020 | #16,850 | 1,650 | 0.55 | -35 bearers (-2.1%) | Up 50 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 Komar 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 | #16,900 | #16,850 | 0.3% |
| Count | 1,685 | 1,650 | -2.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.57 | 0.55 | -3.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Komar bearers went from 1,685 to 1,650 (-2.1% change). The surname moved up 50 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,900 to #16,850.
FAQ
Komar surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Komar?
Name Census estimates that about 1,892 living Americans carry the surname Komar. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 181,160 residents.
How common is Komar?
Komar ranks #16,850 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.55 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 1,650 people with the surname Komar. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,892), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.55 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.55 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 Komar.
Has Komar become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Komar went from 1,685 recorded bearers to 1,650. That is a decrease of 35 (-2.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #16,900 to #16,850.
What does the Census say about the background of Komar?
Among Census respondents with the surname Komar, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%). 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 Komar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.9% (1,517 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Komar appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.9%), Hispanic (2.7%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%). 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 Komar (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 Komar mean?
A surname of Slavic origin, potentially derived from the word for a mosquito or gnat. 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 Komar (0.55 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 share the surname Komar?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.