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

Kurnik, 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 Kurnik surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kurnik in America

Kurnik is the 78316th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kurnik surname appeared 244 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 Kurnik.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kurnik 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 Kurnik

The surname Kurnik has its origins in Poland, where it first emerged in the late 15th century. It is derived from the Polish word "kurnik," which means "chicken coop" or "hen house." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who worked with poultry or lived near a chicken coop.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Kurnik can be found in the records of the town of Krakow, where a resident named Jan Kurnik was mentioned in a document from 1492. The name also appears in various parish records and tax registers from the 16th and 17th centuries in the regions of Lesser Poland and Silesia.

Kurnik is a relatively uncommon surname, but it has been borne by several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest was Jakub Kurnik, a Polish soldier who fought in the Polish-Muscovite War of 1577-1582. Another early bearer of the name was Marcin Kurnik, a farmer and landowner from the village of Szydłowiec, who lived in the mid-17th century.

In the 19th century, a prominent figure with the surname Kurnik was Franciszek Kurnik, a Polish writer and journalist who was born in 1823 and died in 1890. He was known for his contributions to the development of Polish literature and his advocacy for Polish independence.

Another individual of note was Stanisław Kurnik, a Polish painter and art teacher who lived from 1861 to 1924. He was known for his landscapes and portraits, and many of his works can be found in museums and galleries throughout Poland.

More recently, in the 20th century, there was Tadeusz Kurnik, a Polish politician and member of the Sejm (the lower house of the Polish parliament) who served from 1957 to 1980. He was also a member of the Polish United Workers' Party and played a role in the country's political landscape during the communist era.

While the surname Kurnik is not among the most common in Poland, it has a long and interesting history that can be traced back to its origins as a descriptive name related to poultry or living near a chicken coop. Despite its relative rarity, the name has been borne by several notable individuals throughout the centuries, contributing to the cultural and historical tapestry of Poland.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kurnik

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!