2010
#160,975
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Kuczaj
A Polonized form of the German surname Kutzke referring to a person of small stature.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Kuczaj. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kuczaj 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Kuczaj in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kuczaj, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Black (1.8%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kuczaj
The surname Kuczaj originated in Poland, with its earliest known records dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the word "kucz," which means "curl" or "tuft" in Polish, possibly referring to a person with curly hair or a distinctive hairstyle.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Kuczaj can be found in the parish records of the village of Bodzanów, located in the historical region of Lesser Poland. In 1567, a man named Jan Kuczaj was listed as a resident of the village.
The Kuczaj surname also appears in the records of the town of Łęczna, located in the Lublin Voivodeship, in the late 16th century. A document from 1593 mentions a certain Maciej Kuczaj, who was a landowner in the area.
During the 17th century, the Kuczaj surname began to spread to other regions of Poland, with various branches of the family establishing themselves in different areas. One notable example is the Kuczaj family from the village of Kochanów, located in the Masovian Voivodeship, where records from the 1650s mention a man named Wojciech Kuczaj.
In the 18th century, the Kuczaj surname can be found in the records of the city of Cracow, one of the most important cultural and economic centers of Poland at the time. A document from 1732 mentions a merchant named Andrzej Kuczaj, who was involved in the local trade guilds.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals bearing the Kuczaj surname. One of the earliest was Jan Kuczaj (1550-1621), a Polish nobleman and landowner from the town of Łuków, who played a role in the local administration during the reign of King Sigismund III Vasa.
Another prominent figure was Stanisław Kuczaj (1678-1754), a Polish military officer who served in the army of King John III Sobieski and participated in the famous Battle of Vienna in 1683, which marked a turning point in the war against the Ottoman Empire.
In the 19th century, Franciszek Kuczaj (1812-1887) was a Polish writer and poet known for his works that celebrated the beauty of the Polish countryside and rural life. His poems were widely popular and contributed to the development of Polish literature during that period.
The 20th century saw the rise of Michał Kuczaj (1920-1998), a renowned Polish architect who was responsible for designing several iconic buildings in Warsaw, including the Palace of Culture and Science, which remains one of the city's most recognizable landmarks.
Finally, in more recent times, Henryk Kuczaj (1946-2010) was a distinguished Polish linguist and professor at the University of Warsaw, known for his research on language acquisition and multilingualism.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kuczaj
Among Census respondents with the surname Kuczaj, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Black (1.8%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Kuczaj 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 Kuczaj surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.5% · 105
- Black or African American1.8% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kuczaj
Kuczaj 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
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
+10 bearers (+10.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 11,529 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #160,975 | 100 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | +10 bearers (+10.0%) | Up 11,529 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 Kuczaj 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 | #160,975 | #149,446 | 7.2% |
| Count | 100 | 110 | 10.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 22.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kuczaj bearers went from 100 to 110 (+10.0% change). The surname moved up 11,529 positions in the national ranking, going from #160,975 to #149,446.
FAQ
Kuczaj surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kuczaj?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Kuczaj. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Kuczaj?
Kuczaj ranks #149,446 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 110 people with the surname Kuczaj. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), 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 Kuczaj.
Has Kuczaj become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kuczaj went from 100 recorded bearers to 110. That is an increase of 10 (+10.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #160,975 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Kuczaj?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kuczaj, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Black (1.8%) and Hispanic (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 Kuczaj in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.5% (105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kuczaj appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.5%), Black (1.8%), Hispanic (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 Kuczaj (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 Kuczaj mean?
A Polonized form of the German surname Kutzke referring to a person of small stature. 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 Kuczaj (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 surname Kuczaj?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.