Kosinski last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Kosinski is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Kosinski.

Meaning of Kosinski

A Polish habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "Kosina's town" or "Kosina's settlement."

Kosinski, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Kosinski surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kosinski in America

Kosinski is the 11829th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kosinski surname appeared 2,646 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Kosinski.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kosinski to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 11829 11224 5.25%
Count 2,646 2,589 2.18%
Proportion per 100k 0.90 0.96 -6.45%

The history of the last name Kosinski

The surname Kosinski has its origins in Poland, where it first emerged during the Middle Ages. It is a Polish adaptation of the Slavic personal name "Kosma," derived from the Greek name "Kosmas," meaning "order" or "harmony." This personal name was often bestowed upon children to signify a desire for an orderly life.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Kosinski can be found in the Akta Grodzkie, a collection of historical records from the 15th century. These documents mention a certain Andrzej Kosinski, who was a landowner in the region of Krakow during that time period. The name also appears in various Polish parish records and tax registers from the 16th and 17th centuries.

During the 16th century, the Kosinski surname was particularly prevalent in the areas surrounding the town of Bydgoszcz, which was then part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The town's name is derived from the Old Polish word "bydgost," meaning "a place where cattle were kept." It is believed that some branches of the Kosinski family may have originated from or had ties to this region.

One of the most notable individuals with the surname Kosinski was Józef Kosinski (1933-1991), a Polish-American novelist and academic. Born in Łódź, Poland, he is best known for his novels "The Painted Bird" and "Being There," both of which were adapted into successful films. His works often explored themes of identity, alienation, and the human condition.

Another prominent figure was Jerzy Kosinski (1933-1991), a Polish-American sociologist and political scientist. He was born in Lodz, Poland, and immigrated to the United States after World War II. Kosinski made significant contributions to the study of totalitarianism and was a professor at the University of Michigan.

In the 18th century, a branch of the Kosinski family settled in the Galician region of modern-day Ukraine, which was then part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. One notable member of this branch was Tadeusz Kosinski (1771-1842), a Polish military officer and engineer who served in the Polish Legions during the Napoleonic Wars.

The surname Kosinski can also be found in historical records from other regions of Europe, such as Germany and Russia, where Polish immigrants settled over the centuries. However, its roots remain firmly planted in Poland, where it has been a part of the cultural fabric for hundreds of years.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kosinski

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Kosinski.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Kosinski was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 95.88% 2,537
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.53% 14
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.63% 43
Hispanic Origin 1.66% 44

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Kosinski has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 95.88% 98.11% -2.30%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.53% 0.39% 30.43%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 1.63% 0.70% 79.83%
Hispanic 1.66% 0.54% 101.82%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Kosinski was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Kosinski, please contact us.

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"Kosinski last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/kosinski-surname-popularity/.

"Kosinski last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/kosinski-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Kosinski last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/kosinski-surname-popularity/.

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