2010
#141,140
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Krakovsky
Belonging to or from the city of Krakow, Poland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Krakovsky. 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 Krakovsky 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 Krakovsky 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 Krakovsky, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Krakovsky
The surname KRAKOVSKY is of Polish origin, originating in the late 15th or early 16th century from the city of Krakow, one of the oldest and largest cities in Poland. The name likely derived from the Polish word "Krakowski," meaning "of Krakow." It is believed that the name was initially adopted by individuals who migrated from Krakow to other parts of Poland or neighboring countries.
Early recorded instances of the name KRAKOVSKY can be found in historical documents and records from the late 16th and 17th centuries. One of the earliest known references is in the Poznań court records from 1587, where a certain Jan KRAKOVSKY is mentioned as a merchant from the city of Poznań.
In the 18th century, the name KRAKOVSKY appeared in various regions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, including the territories of modern-day Belarus, Ukraine, and Lithuania. A notable bearer of the name during this period was Stanisław KRAKOVSKY (1715-1783), a Polish nobleman and landowner from the Brest region (now part of Belarus).
As the KRAKOVSKY family spread throughout Central and Eastern Europe, the name underwent slight variations in spelling, such as KRAKOVSKIY in Russia, KRAKOVSKY in Ukraine, and KRAKOVSKAS in Lithuania. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name in Russia was Pyotr KRAKOVSKIY (1799-1872), a prominent industrialist and philanthropist from St. Petersburg.
In the 19th century, several KRAKOVSKY families emigrated from Europe to the Americas, particularly to the United States and Canada. Among the early emigrants was Józef KRAKOVSKY (1831-1905), a Polish immigrant who settled in Chicago in the 1870s and worked as a tailor.
Another notable figure with the surname KRAKOVSKY was Olga KRAKOVSKY (1887-1975), a Ukrainian-born American actress and dancer who appeared in various Broadway productions and films during the early 20th century.
While the name KRAKOVSKY is not among the most common surnames globally, it has maintained a presence throughout history, with bearers contributing to various fields, including business, arts, and academia. The surname's origins can be traced back to the city of Krakow, one of the cultural and historical centers of Poland, and its presence has since spread across multiple countries and continents.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Krakovsky
Among Census respondents with the surname Krakovsky, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Krakovsky 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 Krakovsky surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.7% · 108
- Two or more races3.5% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Krakovsky
Krakovsky appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-4 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,355 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #141,140 | 118 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.4%) | Down 5,355 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 Krakovsky 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 | #141,140 | #146,495 | -3.8% |
| Count | 118 | 114 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Krakovsky bearers went from 118 to 114 (-3.4% change). The surname moved down 5,355 positions in the national ranking, going from #141,140 to #146,495.
FAQ
Krakovsky surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Krakovsky?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Krakovsky. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Krakovsky?
Krakovsky 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 Krakovsky. 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 Krakovsky.
Has Krakovsky become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Krakovsky went from 118 recorded bearers to 114. That is a decrease of 4 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #141,140 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Krakovsky?
Among Census respondents with the surname Krakovsky, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.8%). 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 Krakovsky in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.7% (108 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Krakovsky appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.7%), Two or More Races (3.5%), American Indian/Alaska Native (1.8%). 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 Krakovsky (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 Krakovsky mean?
Belonging to or from the city of Krakow, Poland. 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 Krakovsky (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 common is the surname Krakovsky?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Krakovsky on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.