2000
#148,244
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Legutko
A Polish surname derived from the word "legut", referring to a rural cattle herder or cowherd.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Legutko. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Legutko 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Legutko in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Legutko, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Legutko
The surname Legutko originates from Poland and is believed to have first appeared in the late 15th or early 16th century. It likely derives from the Polish word "legut," which means "lightweight" or "agile," suggesting that the name may have been initially given as a nickname to someone with a slender or nimble physique.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Legutko surname can be found in the parish records of the town of Nowy Targ, located in southern Poland near the border with Slovakia. These records date back to the early 1600s and contain several entries for individuals bearing the Legutko name.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Legutko surname was primarily concentrated in the regions of Lesser Poland and Silesia, which were part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at the time. Some of the earliest known bearers of the Legutko name include Stanislaw Legutko, a merchant from Krakow who lived in the late 1500s, and Jan Legutko, a farmer from the village of Lipnica Murowana, whose birth was recorded in 1621.
In the 18th century, the Legutko surname began to spread more widely across Poland as families migrated to other regions. One notable bearer of the name during this period was Franciszek Legutko, a Polish noble and landowner who lived from 1732 to 1802.
As the surname continued to grow in popularity, it also found its way into various historical documents and records. For example, the Legutko name appears in the census records of the city of Poznan from the early 19th century, as well as in the marriage registers of several parishes in the Kielce region of central Poland from the same time period.
Other notable individuals with the Legutko surname throughout history include:
1. Kazimierz Legutko (1888-1966), a Polish painter and art teacher who was known for his landscapes and portraiture.
2. Ryszard Legutko (born 1949), a Polish philosopher, politician, and former member of the European Parliament.
3. Janina Legutko (1920-2008), a Polish resistance fighter during World War II who was awarded the Cross of Valour for her bravery.
4. Tadeusz Legutko (1923-2005), a Polish writer and translator who specialized in works of science fiction and fantasy.
5. Andrzej Legutko (born 1949), a Polish author and academic who has written extensively on political philosophy and the history of ideas.
While the Legutko surname may have originated as a nickname, it has since become a well-established Polish surname with a rich history and numerous notable bearers over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Legutko
Among Census respondents with the surname Legutko, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Legutko 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 Legutko surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.7% · 112
- Two or more races4.3% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Legutko
Legutko 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
+14 bearers (+13.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 5,095 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
+1 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,121 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #148,244 | 102 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #143,149 | 116 | 0.04 | +14 bearers (+13.7%) | Up 5,095 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 1,121 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 Legutko 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 | #144,270 | -0.8% |
| Count | 116 | 117 | 0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Legutko bearers went from 116 to 117 (+0.9% change). The surname moved down 1,121 positions in the national ranking, going from #143,149 to #144,270.
FAQ
Legutko surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Legutko?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Legutko. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Legutko?
Legutko ranks #144,270 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 117 people with the surname Legutko. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), 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 Legutko.
Has Legutko become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Legutko went from 116 recorded bearers to 117. That is an increase of 1 (+0.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #143,149 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Legutko?
Among Census respondents with the surname Legutko, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Legutko in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.7% (112 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Legutko appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.7%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Legutko (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 Legutko mean?
A Polish surname derived from the word "legut", referring to a rural cattle herder or cowherd. 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 Legutko (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 are called Legutko?
See how many people have the surname Legutko on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.