Kurkowski last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Kurkowski

A Polish surname derived from a topographic name referring to a place with a smoky atmosphere or dense fog.

Kurkowski, 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 Kurkowski surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kurkowski in America

Kurkowski is the 25202nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kurkowski surname appeared 983 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Kurkowski.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kurkowski 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 25202 23273 7.96%
Count 983 1,022 -3.89%
Proportion per 100k 0.33 0.38 -14.08%

The history of the last name Kurkowski

The surname Kurkowski is of Polish origin, with its roots tracing back to the 14th century. It is believed to have derived from the Polish word "kurka," which means "chicken," suggesting that the name may have initially referred to someone involved in poultry farming or trade. Kurkowski is a locational surname, indicating that the earliest bearers of this name hailed from a specific place or region within Poland.

Historical records show that the name Kurkowski appeared in various manuscripts and chronicles from the late Middle Ages. One notable reference can be found in the "Akta Grodzkie i Ziemskie" (Acts of the Castellan and Territorial Courts), a collection of legal documents from 16th-century Poland, where individuals with the surname Kurkowski were mentioned in relation to land ownership and legal disputes.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Kurkowski date back to the 15th century. One of the earliest documented individuals bearing this surname was Jan Kurkowski, a merchant from Krakow, who was mentioned in city records from 1472. Another early bearer of the name was Katarzyna Kurkowska, a landowner from the village of Kurkowo, whose name appeared in a land registry document from 1506.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have carried the Kurkowski surname. One prominent figure was Andrzej Kurkowski (1618-1692), a Polish nobleman and military commander who served as a colonel in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth's army during the 17th century. He played a significant role in the Polish-Swedish Wars and was renowned for his bravery and strategic skills on the battlefield.

Another notable Kurkowski was Józef Kurkowski (1784-1861), a Polish painter and artist who gained recognition for his portraiture and religious works. His paintings can be found in various churches and museums throughout Poland.

In the 19th century, Stanisław Kurkowski (1829-1901) was a prominent figure in the Polish independence movement. He was an activist and writer who advocated for Polish autonomy and cultural preservation under the partitions of Poland by Russia, Prussia, and Austria.

Additionally, Wacław Kurkowski (1916-1989) was a renowned Polish architect and urban planner. He was responsible for designing several iconic buildings and urban landscapes in Warsaw and other Polish cities during the post-World War II reconstruction period.

It is worth noting that the surname Kurkowski has been subject to various spelling variations throughout history, such as Kurkowsky, Kurkowska, and Kurkowicz, which reflect regional dialects and language evolutions over time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kurkowski

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

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 Kurkowski was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 93.49% 919
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 1.32% 13
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 2.34% 23
Hispanic Origin 2.34% 23

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 Kurkowski has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 93.49% 95.60% -2.23%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.32% 1.37% -3.72%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 2.34% 0.88% 90.68%
Hispanic 2.34% 1.57% 39.39%

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 Kurkowski was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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"Kurkowski last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/kurkowski-surname-popularity/.

"Kurkowski last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/kurkowski-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 December, 2024

Kurkowski last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/kurkowski-surname-popularity/.

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