2000
#134,929
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Kurilko
A Ukrainian surname derived from a word related to smoking or a smoker.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Kurilko. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kurilko 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Kurilko in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kurilko, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kurilko
The surname Kurilko is believed to have originated in the Slavic regions of Eastern Europe, particularly in modern-day Belarus and Ukraine. It is likely derived from the Slavic root word "kuril," which means "a smoker" or someone who works with smoke or fire. The name may have been initially given as a nickname or occupational surname to an individual who worked as a smoker, a blacksmith, or someone involved in a profession related to fire or smoke.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Kurilko can be traced back to the 16th and 17th centuries in various historical documents and records from the region. One notable mention is found in the "Metryka Litewska," a collection of official documents from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which includes references to individuals with the surname Kurilko.
In the 18th century, the name appears in the records of the Russian Empire, particularly in the regions of modern-day Belarus and Ukraine. During this period, some variations of the spelling, such as "Kurylko" and "Kurilka," were also observed.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Kurilko was Ivan Kurilko, who lived in the village of Shklow (now in Belarus) in the late 16th century. Records indicate that he was a blacksmith by trade, lending credence to the occupational origin of the name.
Another notable bearer of the Kurilko name was Petro Kurilko, a prominent Ukrainian Cossack leader who lived in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. He played a significant role in the uprisings against Polish rule and fought alongside the legendary Cossack leader, Ivan Mazepa.
In the 19th century, the name Kurilko was found in various regions of the Russian Empire, including present-day Belarus, Ukraine, and parts of western Russia. One individual of note was Maksym Kurilko, a Ukrainian writer and poet who was born in 1822 and contributed to the cultural renaissance of the Ukrainian language and literature.
Another noteworthy figure with the surname Kurilko was Hanna Kurilko, a Belarusian artist and painter who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Her works were celebrated for their depictions of rural life and landscapes in Belarus.
In the early 20th century, a prominent bearer of the Kurilko name was Yuri Kurilko, a Belarusian politician and activist who played a significant role in the Belarusian national movement and the struggle for independence from the Soviet Union.
While the surname Kurilko may have originated from an occupational or descriptive nickname, it has since become a well-established family name in various regions of Eastern Europe, particularly in Belarus and Ukraine, where it continues to be passed down through generations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kurilko
Among Census respondents with the surname Kurilko, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Kurilko 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 Kurilko surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.6% · 113
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kurilko
Kurilko 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
#139,228
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
+5 bearers (+4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,299 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
-3 bearers (-2.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,042 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,929 | 115 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #139,228 | 120 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.3%) | Down 4,299 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.5%) | Down 5,042 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 Kurilko 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 | #139,228 | #144,270 | -3.6% |
| Count | 120 | 117 | -2.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kurilko bearers went from 120 to 117 (-2.5% change). The surname moved down 5,042 positions in the national ranking, going from #139,228 to #144,270.
FAQ
Kurilko surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kurilko?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Kurilko. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Kurilko?
Kurilko ranks #144,270 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 117 people with the surname Kurilko. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), 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 Kurilko.
Has Kurilko become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kurilko went from 120 recorded bearers to 117. That is a decrease of 3 (-2.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #139,228 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Kurilko?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kurilko, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Kurilko in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.6% (113 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kurilko appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.6%), Hispanic (2.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Kurilko (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 Kurilko mean?
A Ukrainian surname derived from a word related to smoking or a smoker. 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 Kurilko (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 are called Kurilko?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Kurilko, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.