2000
#5,075
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,342
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.35
Rare Last name
Kwiatkowski
A Polish toponymic surname referring to a person from a place associated with flowers, derived from "kwiat" meaning "flower."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,699 Americans carry the last name Kwiatkowski. That puts it at #5,714 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.95 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 51,165 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kwiatkowski 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Kwiatkowski with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.7K
1 in 51,165
Census rank
#5,714
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,842 bearers of the surname Kwiatkowski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.95 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5714th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kwiatkowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kwiatkowski
The surname Kwiatkowski is of Polish origin, deriving from the word "kwiat," which means "flower" in Polish. It is a toponymic surname, meaning it was originally derived from a place name. In this case, it likely referred to someone who hailed from a location associated with flowers or a flowering plant.
The name first appeared in historical records in the 14th century, during the time when Poland was a powerful kingdom. It is believed to have originated in the regions of Masovia and Greater Poland, where many towns and villages had names related to natural features, such as plants and flowers.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Kwiatkowski can be found in a document from the city of Krakow, dated 1387. This document mentions a man named Jan Kwiatkowski, who was a merchant and landowner in the area.
In the 16th century, the Kwiatkowski family produced several notable figures. One was Andrzej Kwiatkowski (1490-1559), a Catholic priest and theologian who played a significant role in the Polish Reformation. Another was Katarzyna Kwiatkowska (1522-1587), a noblewoman and patron of the arts, known for her support of poets and writers.
During the 17th century, the name Kwiatkowski became associated with the Polish gentry and nobility. One prominent member of this period was Stanisław Kwiatkowski (1625-1698), a military commander who fought in the Polish-Swedish wars and the Khmelnytsky Uprising.
In the 19th century, a famous bearer of the name was Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski (1888-1974), a Polish engineer and politician who served as the Minister of Industry and Trade in the 1920s and 1930s. He was instrumental in the development of Poland's industrial sector during the interwar period.
Another notable Kwiatkowski was Henryk Kwiatkowski (1904-1992), a Polish artist and sculptor known for his abstract and modernist works. His sculptures can be found in public spaces throughout Poland and in several international collections.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kwiatkowski
Among Census respondents with the surname Kwiatkowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Kwiatkowski 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 Kwiatkowski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.4% · 5,454
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 180
- Two or more races2.4% · 138
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 36
- Black or African American0.4% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kwiatkowski
Kwiatkowski 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
#5,457
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,377
+35 bearers (+0.6%)
Per 100,000 2.16
Rank movement Down 382 places
2020
#5,714
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,842
-535 bearers (-8.4%)
Per 100,000 1.95
Rank movement Down 257 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,075 | 6,342 | 2.35 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,457 | 6,377 | 2.16 | +35 bearers (+0.6%) | Down 382 places |
| 2020 | #5,714 | 5,842 | 1.95 | -535 bearers (-8.4%) | Down 257 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 Kwiatkowski 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 | #5,457 | #5,714 | -4.7% |
| Count | 6,377 | 5,842 | -8.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.16 | 1.95 | -9.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kwiatkowski bearers went from 6,377 to 5,842 (-8.4% change). The surname moved down 257 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,457 to #5,714.
FAQ
Kwiatkowski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kwiatkowski?
Name Census estimates that about 6,699 living Americans carry the surname Kwiatkowski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 51,165 residents.
How common is Kwiatkowski?
Kwiatkowski ranks #5,714 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.95 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,842 people with the surname Kwiatkowski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,699), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.95 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.95 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Kwiatkowski.
Has Kwiatkowski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kwiatkowski went from 6,377 recorded bearers to 5,842. That is a decrease of 535 (-8.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,457 to #5,714.
What does the Census say about the background of Kwiatkowski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kwiatkowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Kwiatkowski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.4% (5,454 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kwiatkowski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.4%), Hispanic (3.1%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Kwiatkowski (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 Kwiatkowski mean?
A Polish toponymic surname referring to a person from a place associated with flowers, derived from "kwiat" meaning "flower." 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 Kwiatkowski (1.95 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 Americans have the surname Kwiatkowski?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.