2000
#120,330
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 133
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Luciw
A surname originating from Ukraine or Poland, likely derived from the given name Lucius.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Luciw. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Luciw 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Luciw in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Luciw, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Luciw
The surname LUCIW originated in Ukraine, tracing its roots back to the 16th century. It is a variant of the Ukrainian surname Lutsiv, which was derived from the toponym Lutsk, referring to the historic city of Lutsk in northwestern Ukraine.
LUCIW is a phonetic transcription of the Ukrainian surname Луцiв (Lutsiv), which was commonly encountered in various historical records and manuscripts from the region around Lutsk. The earliest known mention of this surname dates back to a land registry from 1587, where a certain Ivan Lutsiv was listed as a landowner in the Volhynian region.
In the 17th century, the surname LUCIW began appearing in church records and official documents across Volhynia and Galicia, two regions with strong Ukrainian cultural and linguistic influences. Notable bearers of this surname during this period include Hryhoriy Luciw (1603-1679), a prominent Orthodox priest and theologian from the town of Zolochiv.
As the Ukrainian diaspora spread throughout Europe and beyond in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the surname LUCIW became more widely dispersed. One of the earliest known immigrants bearing this name was Petro Luciw (1872-1943), who settled in Canada in the 1890s and became a prominent figure in the Ukrainian-Canadian community.
Other notable individuals with the surname LUCIW include:
1. Yuriy Luciw (1892-1961), a Ukrainian poet and writer from Galicia.
2. Oleksandr Luciw (1917-1991), a Ukrainian-American artist and painter known for his vibrant depictions of Ukrainian folklore.
3. Mykola Luciw (1923-2002), a Ukrainian-Canadian historian and author who wrote extensively on the history of Ukraine and its diaspora.
4. Mariya Luciw (1925-2008), a Ukrainian-Canadian opera singer and vocal teacher.
5. Bohdan Luciw (born 1944), a Ukrainian-American mathematician and computer scientist who made significant contributions to the field of cryptography.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Luciw
Among Census respondents with the surname Luciw, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Luciw 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 Luciw surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.8% · 106
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 6
- Two or more races3.4% · 4
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Luciw
Luciw 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
#147,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
-21 bearers (-15.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 26,923 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+6 bearers (+5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 3,742 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #120,330 | 133 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #147,253 | 112 | 0.04 | -21 bearers (-15.8%) | Down 26,923 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.4%) | Up 3,742 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 Luciw 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 | #147,253 | #143,511 | 2.5% |
| Count | 112 | 118 | 5.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Luciw bearers went from 112 to 118 (+5.4% change). The surname moved up 3,742 positions in the national ranking, going from #147,253 to #143,511.
FAQ
Luciw surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Luciw?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Luciw. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Luciw?
Luciw ranks #143,511 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 118 people with the surname Luciw. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), 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 Luciw.
Has Luciw become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Luciw went from 112 recorded bearers to 118. That is an increase of 6 (+5.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #147,253 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Luciw?
Among Census respondents with the surname Luciw, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Luciw in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Luciw appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.8%), Hispanic (5.1%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Luciw (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 Luciw mean?
A surname originating from Ukraine or Poland, likely derived from the given name Lucius. 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 Luciw (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 have the surname Luciw?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.