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

Kowski, 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 Kowski surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kowski in America

Kowski is the 99378th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kowski surname appeared 182 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Kowski.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kowski 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.

The history of the last name Kowski

The surname "KOWSKI" is of Polish origin, emerging in the late medieval period. It is a patronymic surname, derived from the personal name "Kowka" or "Kowacz," which itself comes from the Old Polish word "kowac," meaning "to forge" or "to hammer." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this name may have been blacksmiths or metalworkers.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in a 15th-century document from the city of Krakow, where a certain "Jan Kowski" is mentioned as a resident. The name can also be found in various historical records from the regions of Greater Poland and Silesia, indicating its widespread use among Polish communities.

During the 16th century, the name appears in the records of the Polish nobility, with a notable figure being Piotr Kowski (c. 1535-1605), a prominent lawyer and statesman who served as a judge in the Crown Tribunal of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

In the 17th century, the name gained further prominence with the birth of Wojciech Kowski (1625-1699), a renowned Polish mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and the calculation of planetary orbits.

Another notable bearer of the name was Marianna Kowska (1752-1824), a Polish noblewoman and philanthropist who established several charitable institutions and schools in her native region of Wielkopolska.

In the 19th century, the name was associated with the Polish uprisings against Russian and Prussian rule, with several individuals bearing the surname participating in various independence movements. One such figure was Józef Kowski (1812-1885), a Polish insurgent and military commander who fought in the November Uprising of 1830-1831.

Throughout history, the surname "KOWSKI" has been associated with various professions and social classes, from metalworkers and artisans to nobility, scholars, and revolutionaries. Its enduring presence in Polish records and archives attests to its deep roots in the nation's cultural heritage.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kowski

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

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 Kowski was:

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 Kowski has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

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 Kowski was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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