2000
#137,816
National surname rank
First available Census row
A surname of Polish origin, derived from a habitational name referring to someone from a place called Kondek.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 128 Americans carry the last name Kondek. That puts it at #147,954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,677,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kondek 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
128
1 in 2,677,768
Census rank
#147,954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
112
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 112 bearers of the surname Kondek in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kondek, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
Origin
The surname Kondek has its roots in Poland, dating back to the early 16th century. It is thought to have originated from the Polish word "kondek," which referred to a small barrel or cask used for storing liquids. This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with individuals involved in the production or trade of such containers.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kondek can be found in the parish records of the village of Krakow, where a certain Jan Kondek was mentioned in 1523. This supports the theory that the name was already in use during the Renaissance period in Poland.
Over the centuries, the Kondek surname has been documented in various historical records and manuscripts across Poland. For instance, in the 17th century, a nobleman named Stanislaw Kondek was noted as a landowner in the region of Lublin.
In the 19th century, the name Kondek gained further recognition with the birth of Jozef Kondek (1801-1876), a prominent Polish writer and poet. His literary works, which often focused on themes of love and nature, were widely celebrated during his lifetime.
Another notable figure with the Kondek surname was Wladyslaw Kondek (1856-1920), a Polish painter and art educator. His landscape paintings, capturing the beauty of the Polish countryside, are still cherished today and can be found in several museums across the country.
Moving into the 20th century, the name Kondek continued to be associated with individuals who made significant contributions to various fields. One such individual was Andrzej Kondek (1912-1998), a renowned Polish mathematician and professor at the University of Warsaw. His research in algebraic topology and functional analysis earned him widespread acclaim in the academic community.
While the surname Kondek may have originated from a humble reference to a small barrel, it has since been carried by individuals who have left their mark on Polish history and culture, spanning literature, art, education, and academia.
Demographics
Among Census respondents with the surname Kondek, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Kondek 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 Kondek surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
Timeline
Kondek 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.
2000
National surname rank
First available Census row
2010
National surname rank
+15 bearers (+13.4%)
2020
National surname rank
-15 bearers (-11.8%)
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #137,816 | 112 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #133,048 | 127 | 0.04 | +15 bearers (+13.4%) | Up 4,768 places |
| 2020 | #147,954 | 112 | 0.04 | -15 bearers (-11.8%) | Down 14,906 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
How has the Kondek surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #133,048 | #147,954 | -11.2% |
| Count | 127 | 112 | -11.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kondek bearers went from 127 to 112 (-11.8% change). The surname moved down 14,906 positions in the national ranking, going from #133,048 to #147,954.
FAQ
Name Census estimates that about 128 living Americans carry the surname Kondek. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,677,768 residents.
Kondek ranks #147,954 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.
The raw 2020 Census file counted 112 people with the surname Kondek. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (128), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
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 Kondek.
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kondek went from 127 recorded bearers to 112. That is a decrease of 15 (-11.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #133,048 to #147,954.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kondek, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (1.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Kondek in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.9% (104 people in the source table).
Kondek appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.9%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Hispanic (1.8%). 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.
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 Kondek (2000, 2010, 2020).
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.
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.
A surname of Polish origin, derived from a habitational name referring to someone from a place called Kondek. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
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.
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 Kondek (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.
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.