2000
#40,019
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 516
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.19
Very Rare Last name
Krygier
A surname referring to someone from the Krygier region of Poland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 596 Americans carry the last name Krygier. That puts it at #44,477 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.17 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 575,091 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Krygier 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
596
1 in 575,091
Census rank
#44,477
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
520
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 520 bearers of the surname Krygier in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.17 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 44477th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Krygier, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Krygier
The surname Krygier originated in Poland, with its earliest known records dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Polish word "krygier," which means "a person who plays the lute or other stringed instrument." This suggests that the name was originally an occupational surname given to musicians or entertainers.
The name Krygier can be traced back to various regions in Poland, including the areas around Krakow, Warsaw, and Poznań. In some historical records, the name is also spelled as "Krygier," "Krieger," or "Krüger," reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and spelling.
One of the earliest documented references to the name Krygier can be found in the records of the Prussian Duchy of Pomerania, which was a part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 16th century. A nobleman named Jan Krygier is mentioned in a land grant document from 1587.
In the 17th century, the name Krygier appears in various municipal records and church registers across Poland. For example, a merchant named Jakub Krygier is recorded as a resident of Gdańsk (Danzig) in 1628, while a landowner named Marcin Krygier is listed in the records of Bydgoszcz in 1672.
Notable individuals with the surname Krygier throughout history include:
1. Józef Krygier (1800-1876), a Polish painter and art professor known for his portraits and historical paintings.
2. Stanisław Krygier (1835-1904), a Polish historian and author who wrote extensively on the history of Poland and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
3. Maria Krygier (1869-1943), a Polish activist and educator who fought for women's rights and established several schools for girls in Warsaw.
4. Bronisław Krygier (1903-1976), a Polish mathematician and logician who made significant contributions to the field of set theory.
5. Ewa Krygier (born 1947), a Polish-Australian artist and sculptor known for her large-scale public artworks and installations.
While the surname Krygier is most commonly associated with Poland, it has also been found in other parts of Europe, likely due to migration and cultural exchanges throughout history. However, the name's origins can be traced back to its Polish roots and the occupation of musicians and entertainers in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Krygier
Among Census respondents with the surname Krygier, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Krygier 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 Krygier surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.3% · 480
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 21
- Two or more races1.9% · 10
- Black or African American1.0% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Krygier
Krygier 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
#39,004
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 565
+49 bearers (+9.5%)
Per 100,000 0.19
Rank movement Up 1,015 places
2020
#44,477
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 520
-45 bearers (-8.0%)
Per 100,000 0.17
Rank movement Down 5,473 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #40,019 | 516 | 0.19 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #39,004 | 565 | 0.19 | +49 bearers (+9.5%) | Up 1,015 places |
| 2020 | #44,477 | 520 | 0.17 | -45 bearers (-8.0%) | Down 5,473 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 Krygier 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 | #39,004 | #44,477 | -14.0% |
| Count | 565 | 520 | -8.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.19 | 0.17 | -8.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Krygier bearers went from 565 to 520 (-8.0% change). The surname moved down 5,473 positions in the national ranking, going from #39,004 to #44,477.
FAQ
Krygier surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Krygier?
Name Census estimates that about 596 living Americans carry the surname Krygier. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 575,091 residents.
How common is Krygier?
Krygier ranks #44,477 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.17 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 520 people with the surname Krygier. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (596), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.17 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.17 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 Krygier.
Has Krygier become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Krygier went from 565 recorded bearers to 520. That is a decrease of 45 (-8.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #39,004 to #44,477.
What does the Census say about the background of Krygier?
Among Census respondents with the surname Krygier, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Krygier in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.3% (480 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Krygier appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.3%), Hispanic (4.0%), Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Krygier (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 Krygier mean?
A surname referring to someone from the Krygier region of 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 Krygier (0.17 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 are called Krygier?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Krygier? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.