2000
#134,929
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Kopenski
A surname derived from the Polish village name Kopieniec, meaning "residents of Kopieniec."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Kopenski. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kopenski 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
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Kopenski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kopenski, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kopenski
The surname Kopenski has its origins in Poland, with records indicating it first emerged in the late 15th century. The name is derived from the Polish word "kopa," meaning a heap or mound, suggesting the earliest bearers may have lived near such a geographical feature or worked in occupations related to mounds or earthworks.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Akta Metrykalne, a collection of Polish parish records dating back to the 16th century. In these records, a Jan Kopenski is mentioned as a resident of the village of Brodnica in the year 1523.
During the 17th century, the name appears to have spread across various regions of Poland. A notable figure from this era was Andrzej Kopenski, a renowned scholar and theologian born in Krakow in 1612. He authored several influential works on religious philosophy and served as a professor at the prestigious Jagiellonian University.
As Polish immigrants began to settle in other parts of Europe and the Americas in the 19th century, the Kopenski name traveled with them. One such individual was Kazimierz Kopenski, a Polish exile who settled in France after the failed November Uprising of 1830-1831. He went on to become a respected writer and journalist, publishing several works on Polish history and culture.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the Kopenski name can be found in the records of St. Stanislaus Parish in Buffalo, New York, where a Franciszek Kopenski is listed as a parishioner in 1872.
Another notable figure bearing the Kopenski name was Wladyslaw Kopenski, a Polish military officer and diplomat born in 1888. He served in various diplomatic roles, including as Poland's ambassador to Italy and Spain, and played a crucial role in negotiating the Riga Peace Treaty between Poland and Soviet Russia in 1921.
Throughout its history, the Kopenski surname has been associated with individuals from various walks of life, including scholars, writers, military figures, and diplomats, reflecting the rich heritage and diverse contributions of those who have borne this name over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kopenski
Among Census respondents with the surname Kopenski, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Kopenski 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 Kopenski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.0% · 98
- Hispanic or Latino7.9% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.5% · 4
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kopenski
Kopenski 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
#158,432
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
-13 bearers (-11.3%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 23,503 places
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
+12 bearers (+11.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 11,937 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,929 | 115 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #158,432 | 102 | 0.03 | -13 bearers (-11.3%) | Down 23,503 places |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | +12 bearers (+11.8%) | Up 11,937 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 Kopenski 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 | #158,432 | #146,495 | 7.5% |
| Count | 102 | 114 | 11.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 27.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kopenski bearers went from 102 to 114 (+11.8% change). The surname moved up 11,937 positions in the national ranking, going from #158,432 to #146,495.
FAQ
Kopenski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kopenski?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Kopenski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Kopenski?
Kopenski ranks #146,495 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 114 people with the surname Kopenski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), 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 Kopenski.
Has Kopenski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kopenski went from 102 recorded bearers to 114. That is an increase of 12 (+11.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #158,432 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Kopenski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kopenski, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.5%). 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 Kopenski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.0% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kopenski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.0%), Hispanic (7.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.5%). 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 Kopenski (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 Kopenski mean?
A surname derived from the Polish village name Kopieniec, meaning "residents of Kopieniec." 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 Kopenski (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 share the surname Kopenski?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.