2000
#150,436
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Kukawski
A surname likely of Polish origin, potentially related to the word "kukuřice" meaning corn or maize.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Kukawski. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kukawski 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Kukawski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kukawski, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kukawski
The surname Kukawski is believed to have originated in Poland during the medieval period. It is derived from the Polish word "kukawka," which means "cuckoo," referring to the bird. This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a nickname or a descriptive name to someone associated with the cuckoo bird in some way.
Kukawski is a Polish surname with variations in spelling, such as Kukowski and Kukawiski, which were common in various regions of Poland. The name can be traced back to the 15th and 16th centuries, appearing in historical records and documents from that era.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Kukawski surname can be found in the "Akta Grodzkie" (District Court Records) of the Kraków region, dating back to the late 16th century. These records mention a certain Jan Kukawski, who was involved in legal proceedings related to land ownership disputes.
In the 17th century, the name appears in the "Metryki Koronne" (Crown Metrica), a collection of official documents from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. One notable entry is of a Michał Kukawski, who served as a military officer during the Polish-Swedish wars of the mid-17th century.
The Kukawski surname is also associated with several Polish nobility families, such as the Kukawski coat of arms, which dates back to the 16th century. This coat of arms depicts a cuckoo bird on a field of azure, further reinforcing the connection between the name and the cuckoo bird.
Historically, the name Kukawski has been prominent in various regions of Poland, including Mazovia, Greater Poland, and Silesia. Some notable individuals who bore this surname include:
1. Jakub Kukawski (c. 1520-1590), a Polish philosopher and educator who taught at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków.
2. Anna Kukawska (1611-1678), a Polish noblewoman and landowner from the Mazovian region.
3. Józef Kukawski (1742-1819), a Polish priest and writer who authored several religious texts.
4. Franciszek Kukawski (1807-1871), a Polish painter and art teacher known for his landscapes and historical paintings.
5. Elżbieta Kukawska (1915-2001), a Polish writer and journalist who wrote extensively about World War II and its aftermath.
While the Kukawski surname has its roots in Poland, it has also been adopted by individuals of Polish descent in other parts of the world, particularly in the United States and Canada, where significant Polish communities exist.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kukawski
Among Census respondents with the surname Kukawski, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Kukawski 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 Kukawski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.5% · 86
- Hispanic or Latino7.8% · 8
- Two or more races3.9% · 4
- Black or African American2.9% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kukawski
Kukawski 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
#158,432
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
+2 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 7,996 places
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
+1 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 4,250 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #150,436 | 100 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #158,432 | 102 | 0.03 | +2 bearers (+2.0%) | Down 7,996 places |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | +1 bearers (+1.0%) | Up 4,250 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 Kukawski 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 | #158,432 | #154,182 | 2.7% |
| Count | 102 | 103 | 1.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 14.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kukawski bearers went from 102 to 103 (+1.0% change). The surname moved up 4,250 positions in the national ranking, going from #158,432 to #154,182.
FAQ
Kukawski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kukawski?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Kukawski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Kukawski?
Kukawski ranks #154,182 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 103 people with the surname Kukawski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Kukawski.
Has Kukawski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kukawski went from 102 recorded bearers to 103. That is an increase of 1 (+1.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #158,432 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Kukawski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kukawski, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Kukawski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.5% (86 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kukawski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.5%), Hispanic (7.8%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Kukawski (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 Kukawski mean?
A surname likely of Polish origin, potentially related to the word "kukuřice" meaning corn or maize. 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 Kukawski (0.03 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 Americans have the surname Kukawski?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.