2000
#130,443
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Kreski
Polish name referring to a thin or slender person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Kreski. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kreski 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
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Kreski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kreski, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kreski
The surname Kreski is of Polish origin, with its roots tracing back to the medieval era in the region of Lesser Poland. It is believed to be a derivative of the Polish word "kreska," which means "line" or "stroke," suggesting a possible connection to occupations involving drawing, calligraphy, or artistic pursuits.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the 16th-century parish records of the town of Kazimierz Dolny, located in the Lublin Voivodeship of eastern Poland. In these records, a certain Jan Kreski is mentioned as a respected calligrapher and illuminator of manuscripts for the local church.
The Kreski name also appears in the archives of the city of Krakow, where a family by that name held a prominent position in the guild of painters and artists during the Renaissance period. Notably, Andrzej Kreski (1520-1588) was a renowned painter who created several magnificent altarpieces for churches throughout Lesser Poland.
As the name spread across Poland, it was sometimes modified to various spellings, such as Kreski, Kreschki, or Krescki, reflecting regional linguistic variations. In the 18th century, the Kreski family established themselves in the city of Poznan, where Franciszek Kreski (1735-1802) was a respected scholar and educator at the Lubranski Academy.
The name also found its way into the annals of Polish nobility, with the Kreski coat of arms being granted to a family in the 17th century. This coat of arms featured a diagonal line or "kreska" on a blue field, perhaps a nod to the name's artistic origins.
Another notable bearer of the Kreski surname was Józef Kreski (1810-1878), a Polish linguist and philologist who made significant contributions to the study of Slavic languages. His work on the historical development of the Polish language and its relationship to other Slavic tongues was highly influential in his time.
While the Kreski surname may not be as prevalent today as it once was, its rich historical legacy is deeply rooted in the cultural and artistic traditions of Poland, spanning centuries and encompassing various professions and social strata.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kreski
Among Census respondents with the surname Kreski, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Kreski 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 Kreski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.7% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.7% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kreski
Kreski 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
#151,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-12 bearers (-10.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 21,089 places
2020
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
+1 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 1,327 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #130,443 | 120 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #151,532 | 108 | 0.04 | -12 bearers (-10.0%) | Down 21,089 places |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.9%) | Up 1,327 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 Kreski 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 | #151,532 | #150,205 | 0.9% |
| Count | 108 | 109 | 0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kreski bearers went from 108 to 109 (+0.9% change). The surname moved up 1,327 positions in the national ranking, going from #151,532 to #150,205.
FAQ
Kreski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kreski?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Kreski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Kreski?
Kreski ranks #150,205 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 109 people with the surname Kreski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), 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 Kreski.
Has Kreski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kreski went from 108 recorded bearers to 109. That is an increase of 1 (+0.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #151,532 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Kreski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kreski, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.7%). 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 Kreski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kreski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.7%), Hispanic (3.7%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.7%). 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 Kreski (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 Kreski mean?
Polish name referring to a thin or slender person. 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 Kreski (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 Kreski?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Kreski, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.