2010
#160,975
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Kwaterski
A Polish surname derived from the word "kwaterka" meaning a type of bread.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 117 Americans carry the last name Kwaterski. That puts it at #154,755 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,929,524 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kwaterski 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
117
1 in 2,929,524
Census rank
#154,755
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
102
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 102 bearers of the surname Kwaterski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154755th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kwaterski, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kwaterski
The surname KWATERSKI originates from Poland and is believed to have emerged in the late 16th or early 17th century. It is derived from the Polish word "kwaterski," which means "quartermaster" or someone responsible for managing military quarters and supplies. This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with individuals who held such positions in the Polish military or related services.
One of the earliest known references to the KWATERSKI name can be found in the records of the Polish nobility, where it is mentioned in connection with a minor noble family from the Wielkopolska region in the late 17th century. However, the name was not exclusively associated with the nobility and was also found among the general population in various parts of Poland.
The KWATERSKI surname has undergone some variations in spelling over the centuries, with alternative forms such as KWATERSKI, KWATERSKY, and KWATERSKA appearing in historical records. These variations may reflect regional differences in pronunciation or orthographic conventions at the time.
Notable individuals with the KWATERSKI surname include Jan Kwaterski (1826-1892), a Polish writer and journalist who was active during the period of the Polish uprisings against Russian rule in the 19th century. Another figure was Franciszek Kwaterski (1871-1941), a Polish military officer who served in the Austro-Hungarian army during World War I and later joined the Polish armed forces after Poland regained independence.
In more recent history, Maria Kwaterski (1908-1997) was a Polish artist and painter known for her landscapes and still-life works, while Kazimierz Kwaterski (1919-2005) was a Polish engineer and inventor who held several patents in the field of mechanical engineering.
It is worth noting that while the KWATERSKI name has its roots in Poland, it has also been carried by individuals of Polish descent who have emigrated to other countries, particularly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As a result, the name can be found in various parts of the world with sizable Polish diaspora communities.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kwaterski
Among Census respondents with the surname Kwaterski, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Kwaterski 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 Kwaterski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.1% · 98
- Two or more races2.9% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kwaterski
Kwaterski appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#154,755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
+2 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 6,220 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #160,975 | 100 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #154,755 | 102 | 0.03 | +2 bearers (+2.0%) | Up 6,220 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 Kwaterski 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 | #160,975 | #154,755 | 3.9% |
| Count | 100 | 102 | 2.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 13.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kwaterski bearers went from 100 to 102 (+2.0% change). The surname moved up 6,220 positions in the national ranking, going from #160,975 to #154,755.
FAQ
Kwaterski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kwaterski?
Name Census estimates that about 117 living Americans carry the surname Kwaterski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,929,524 residents.
How common is Kwaterski?
Kwaterski ranks #154,755 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 102 people with the surname Kwaterski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (117), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Kwaterski.
Has Kwaterski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kwaterski went from 100 recorded bearers to 102. That is an increase of 2 (+2.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #160,975 to #154,755.
What does the Census say about the background of Kwaterski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kwaterski, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%). 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 Kwaterski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.1% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kwaterski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.1%), Two or More Races (2.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%). 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 Kwaterski (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 Kwaterski mean?
A Polish surname derived from the word "kwaterka" meaning a type of bread. 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 Kwaterski (0.03 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 have the last name Kwaterski?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Kwaterski is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.