Find out how popular the last name Kulas is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Kulas.

Kulas, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Kulas surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kulas in America

Kulas is the 13781st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kulas surname appeared 2,195 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Kulas.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kulas to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Kulas

The surname Kulas is of Polish origin and can be traced back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Polish word "kula," which means "ball" or "sphere." The name likely referred to an ancestor who was involved in the production or trade of balls or spheres, such as a cannonball maker or a bowler.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kulas can be found in the records of the city of Krakow, Poland, where a certain Jan Kulas was listed as a resident in the year 1589. The name also appears in various church records and land registries from the 17th and 18th centuries in the regions of Lesser Poland and Silesia.

In the 19th century, the name Kulas began to spread beyond its traditional heartland as Polish emigrants sought new opportunities in other parts of Europe and the Americas. Notable individuals bearing this surname include Józef Kulas (1804-1878), a Polish painter and art teacher who was a prominent figure in the Kraków School of Art.

Another individual of note was Franciszek Kulas (1846-1909), a Polish journalist and political activist who was involved in the struggle for Polish independence from Russian and Prussian rule. He was imprisoned several times for his activities and spent many years in exile.

In the 20th century, Antoni Kulas (1912-1994) was a Polish soldier who fought in World War II and later became a respected historian and author, publishing several books on the history of the Polish military.

Across the Atlantic, Joseph Kulas (1919-2002) was an American businessman and philanthropist of Polish descent who founded the Kulas Foundation, which supports educational and cultural initiatives in the United States.

More recently, the name Kulas has been carried by notable figures such as Michal Kulas (born 1972), a Polish professional footballer who played as a defender for several clubs in Poland and Germany.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kulas

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Kulas.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Kulas was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Kulas has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Kulas was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Kulas, please contact us.

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