2000
#3,178
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,363
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.84
Uncommon Last name
Kozlowski
A Polish toponymic surname derived from the word "kozioł," meaning "goat," likely referring to a place associated with goats.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 11,034 Americans carry the last name Kozlowski. That puts it at #3,606 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.22 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 31,063 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kozlowski 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Kozlowski with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 31,063
Census rank
#3,606
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.6K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,622 bearers of the surname Kozlowski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.22 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3606th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kozlowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kozlowski
The surname Kozlowski is of Polish origin, deriving from the word "kozioł," which means "goat" in Polish. It is believed to have originated in the late Middle Ages or early Renaissance period, sometime around the 15th or 16th century.
The name likely originated in rural areas of Poland, where it may have been used as a descriptive name for someone who worked with goats or had a physical resemblance to a goat. Variations in spelling, such as Kozłowski or Kozlowsky, were common in historical records due to regional dialects and scribal inconsistencies.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kozlowski can be found in the Metryka Koronna, a collection of historical documents from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth dating back to the late 15th century. The name appears in various records and manuscripts throughout the 16th and 17th centuries.
Notable individuals with the surname Kozlowski include Józef Kozłowski (1776-1858), a Polish painter and art teacher, and Stanisław Kozłowski (1885-1939), a Polish architect and academic who designed several notable buildings in Warsaw.
Another notable figure was Ksawery Kozłowski (1799-1879), a Polish general who fought in the November Uprising against Russian rule in the early 19th century. He later served as a military advisor to the Ottoman Empire and played a role in reforming the Ottoman army.
In the 20th century, Wacław Kozłowski (1892-1977) was a prominent Polish composer and conductor, known for his works in the late Romantic and early modern styles. He served as the director of the Kraków Opera from 1933 to 1939.
Andrzej Kozłowski (1923-2022) was a Polish writer and journalist who survived imprisonment in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. His memoir, "Oblicza Totalitaryzmu" (Faces of Totalitarianism), recounted his experiences and became an important historical document.
While the surname Kozlowski is most prevalent in Poland, it has also been carried by individuals of Polish descent in other parts of the world, particularly in areas with significant Polish immigration, such as the United States and Canada.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kozlowski
Among Census respondents with the surname Kozlowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Kozlowski 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 Kozlowski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.0% · 8,947
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 334
- Two or more races2.5% · 238
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 59
- Black or African American0.2% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 20
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kozlowski
Kozlowski 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
#3,449
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,358
-5 bearers (-0.0%)
Per 100,000 3.51
Rank movement Down 271 places
2020
#3,606
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,622
-736 bearers (-7.1%)
Per 100,000 3.22
Rank movement Down 157 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,178 | 10,363 | 3.84 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,449 | 10,358 | 3.51 | -5 bearers (-0.0%) | Down 271 places |
| 2020 | #3,606 | 9,622 | 3.22 | -736 bearers (-7.1%) | Down 157 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 Kozlowski 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 | #3,449 | #3,606 | -4.6% |
| Count | 10,358 | 9,622 | -7.1% |
| Per 100K | 3.51 | 3.22 | -8.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kozlowski bearers went from 10,358 to 9,622 (-7.1% change). The surname moved down 157 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,449 to #3,606.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Kozlowski
FAQ
Kozlowski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kozlowski?
Name Census estimates that about 11,034 living Americans carry the surname Kozlowski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 31,063 residents.
How common is Kozlowski?
Kozlowski ranks #3,606 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.22 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,622 people with the surname Kozlowski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (11,034), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.22 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.22 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Kozlowski.
Has Kozlowski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kozlowski went from 10,358 recorded bearers to 9,622. That is a decrease of 736 (-7.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,449 to #3,606.
What does the Census say about the background of Kozlowski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kozlowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Kozlowski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (8,947 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kozlowski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.0%), Hispanic (3.5%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Kozlowski (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 Kozlowski mean?
A Polish toponymic surname derived from the word "kozioł," meaning "goat," likely referring to a place associated with goats. 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 Kozlowski (3.22 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 common is the surname Kozlowski?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Kozlowski on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.