2000
#134,037
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Kurish
A surname potentially deriving from the Polish word "kura" meaning "hen".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Kurish. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kurish 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
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Kurish in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kurish, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.0%) and Hispanic (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kurish
The surname Kurish is believed to have originated in the region of Eastern Europe, specifically in the area now known as Poland and the surrounding regions. Its roots can be traced back to the early medieval period, around the 9th to 11th centuries.
The name Kurish is thought to have derived from the Slavic root word "kur," which has various meanings related to poultry or birds. It may have been initially associated with individuals who worked with poultry or raised chickens for a living. Alternatively, it could have been a descriptive nickname for someone who had a physical or behavioral characteristic resembling a bird.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kurish can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Poloniae, a collection of historical documents from the Kingdom of Poland dating back to the 11th century. In this codex, there is a mention of a landowner named Kurish, who was granted a parcel of land near the city of Krakow in 1094.
During the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance period, the Kurish surname began to spread across various regions of Central and Eastern Europe. Notable individuals bearing this name include Mikołaj Kurish (1512-1578), a Polish nobleman and military commander who fought in the Livonian War against the Russian Empire.
In the 17th century, the Kurish surname also appeared in historical records from the German Principality of Ansbach, where a family of merchants and tradespeople carried the name. One prominent member of this family was Johannes Kurish (1628-1691), a renowned clockmaker and inventor of several innovative timepiece mechanisms.
As migration patterns shifted in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Kurish surname began to appear in other parts of Europe and even in the Americas. One notable figure from this period was Anna Kurish (1782-1856), a Ukrainian-born artist and painter who achieved recognition for her portraits and landscape paintings in the Russian Empire.
Another notable bearer of the Kurish surname was Josef Kurish (1819-1892), a Czech-born writer and journalist who became a prominent figure in the Czech National Revival movement. His works played a significant role in promoting Czech language and culture during the 19th century.
Throughout its history, the surname Kurish has maintained a presence across various regions, with individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions carrying this name. While its origins can be traced back to the Slavic regions of Eastern Europe, the Kurish surname has become a part of the cultural tapestry of many nations and communities around the world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kurish
Among Census respondents with the surname Kurish, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.0%) and Hispanic (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Kurish 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 Kurish surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.6% · 101
- Two or more races7.0% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kurish
Kurish 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
#143,149
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 9,112 places
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-2 bearers (-1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,346 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,037 | 116 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #143,149 | 116 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 9,112 places |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.7%) | Down 3,346 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 Kurish 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 | #143,149 | #146,495 | -2.3% |
| Count | 116 | 114 | -1.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kurish bearers went from 116 to 114 (-1.7% change). The surname moved down 3,346 positions in the national ranking, going from #143,149 to #146,495.
FAQ
Kurish surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kurish?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Kurish. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Kurish?
Kurish ranks #146,495 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 114 people with the surname Kurish. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), 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 Kurish.
Has Kurish become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kurish went from 116 recorded bearers to 114. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #143,149 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Kurish?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kurish, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.0%) and Hispanic (4.4%). 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 Kurish in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.6% (101 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kurish appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.6%), Two or More Races (7.0%), Hispanic (4.4%). 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 Kurish (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 Kurish mean?
A surname potentially deriving from the Polish word "kura" meaning "hen". 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 Kurish (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 share the surname Kurish?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.