2000
#139,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Kovalaske
A variant spelling of a Lithuanian surname possibly derived from "kovas" meaning March.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 122 Americans carry the last name Kovalaske. That puts it at #152,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,809,462 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kovalaske 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
122
1 in 2,809,462
Census rank
#152,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
106
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 106 bearers of the surname Kovalaske in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kovalaske, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kovalaske
The surname KOVALASKE has its origins in Eastern Europe, specifically in the region that is now modern-day Poland. It dates back to the early medieval period, around the 11th or 12th century. The name is believed to be derived from the Old Slavic word "koval," meaning "blacksmith," and the suffix "-aske," which denotes a place of origin or residence.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the KOVALASKE surname can be found in a 14th-century manuscript from the city of Krakow, where it was written as "Kowalski." This spelling variation suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near or worked in a blacksmith's workshop or village.
During the late Middle Ages, the KOVALASKE name began to spread across other parts of Central and Eastern Europe, including present-day Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania. In these regions, the name often took on slightly different spellings, such as "Kovalevsky" or "Kovalski," reflecting local linguistic and cultural influences.
In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the KOVALASKE surname was Jan Kovalski, a Polish nobleman and military commander who fought in the Livonian War against the Grand Duchy of Moscow. He was born around 1530 and died in 1585.
Another prominent individual with the KOVALASKE name was Mikhail Kovalevsky, a Russian mathematician and mechanic who made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics. He was born in 1851 and passed away in 1916.
In the 19th century, the KOVALASKE surname gained recognition through the work of Sophia Kovalevskaya, a pioneering Russian mathematician who became the first woman to be appointed as a professor of mathematics in modern Europe. She was born in 1850 and died in 1891.
Another notable figure was Vladimir Kovalevsky, a Russian paleontologist and geologist who made important discoveries in the field of vertebrate paleontology. He lived from 1842 to 1883.
In the early 20th century, Maksim Kovalevsky, a Ukrainian-born Russian biologist and embryologist, gained recognition for his contributions to the study of comparative embryology. He was born in 1851 and died in 1916.
While the KOVALASKE surname has its roots in Eastern Europe, it has since spread to various parts of the world due to migration and diaspora communities. However, it remains most prevalent in countries with significant Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, and other Slavic populations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kovalaske
Among Census respondents with the surname Kovalaske, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Kovalaske 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 Kovalaske surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.3% · 100
- Two or more races2.8% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kovalaske
Kovalaske 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
#147,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
+2 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,496 places
2020
#152,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-6 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,086 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #139,757 | 110 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #147,253 | 112 | 0.04 | +2 bearers (+1.8%) | Down 7,496 places |
| 2020 | #152,339 | 106 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 5,086 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 Kovalaske 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 | #147,253 | #152,339 | -3.5% |
| Count | 112 | 106 | -5.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -11.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kovalaske bearers went from 112 to 106 (-5.4% change). The surname moved down 5,086 positions in the national ranking, going from #147,253 to #152,339.
FAQ
Kovalaske surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kovalaske?
Name Census estimates that about 122 living Americans carry the surname Kovalaske. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,809,462 residents.
How common is Kovalaske?
Kovalaske ranks #152,339 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 106 people with the surname Kovalaske. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (122), 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 Kovalaske.
Has Kovalaske become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kovalaske went from 112 recorded bearers to 106. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #147,253 to #152,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Kovalaske?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kovalaske, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Kovalaske in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.3% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kovalaske appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.3%), Two or More Races (2.8%), Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Kovalaske (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 Kovalaske mean?
A variant spelling of a Lithuanian surname possibly derived from "kovas" meaning March. 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 Kovalaske (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 have the last name Kovalaske?
Find out how many people have the surname Kovalaske on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.