2000
#134,929
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Ludwinski
From the Polish form of the Slavic personal name Ludvik, meaning "people's ruler".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 130 Americans carry the last name Ludwinski. That puts it at #147,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,636,572 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ludwinski 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
130
1 in 2,636,572
Census rank
#147,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
113
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 113 bearers of the surname Ludwinski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ludwinski, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ludwinski
The surname LUDWINSKI is of Polish origin, deriving from the personal name Ludwik, which is a Polish form of the Germanic name Ludwig. The name Ludwik likely arose in the 10th century when the ruling Piast dynasty adopted the name, which means "famous warrior" or "famous battle."
LUDWINSKI is a Polish habitation surname, indicating that the original bearer of the name hailed from a place called Ludwinka or another place name with a similar root. Place names formed with the suffix "-inka" were common in medieval Poland, often denoting a small village or settlement.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the LUDWINSKI surname dates back to the 15th century in the town of Krakow, where a man named Jan LUDWINSKI was listed as a landowner in 1467. Records from the nearby town of Tarnow also show a family by the name of LUDWINSKI residing there in the late 1500s.
The LUDWINSKI name can be found in various historical documents and records throughout the centuries, including parish registers, tax rolls, and military records. Some notable individuals with the LUDWINSKI surname include:
1. Stanislaw LUDWINSKI (1753-1826), a Polish nobleman and landowner who served as a cavalry officer during the Kosciuszko Uprising against Russian rule.
2. Michal LUDWINSKI (1807-1877), a Polish writer and poet who published several collections of poetry and plays in the Romantic era.
3. Jadwiga LUDWINSKA (1834-1908), a Polish educator and advocate for women's rights, who founded one of the first girls' schools in Warsaw.
4. Wladyslaw LUDWINSKI (1860-1925), a Polish artist and painter known for his landscapes and portraiture, many of which are displayed in museums across Poland.
5. Andrzej LUDWINSKI (1902-1981), a Polish military officer who fought in both World War I and World War II, later becoming a prominent historian and author of several books on Polish military history.
While the LUDWINSKI surname originated in Poland, it has since spread to other parts of the world through immigration, particularly to countries with large Polish diaspora communities such as the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ludwinski
Among Census respondents with the surname Ludwinski, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Ludwinski 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 Ludwinski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 113
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ludwinski
Ludwinski 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
#159,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
-14 bearers (-12.2%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 24,783 places
2020
#147,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
+12 bearers (+11.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 12,491 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,929 | 115 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #159,712 | 101 | 0.03 | -14 bearers (-12.2%) | Down 24,783 places |
| 2020 | #147,221 | 113 | 0.04 | +12 bearers (+11.9%) | Up 12,491 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 Ludwinski 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 | #159,712 | #147,221 | 7.8% |
| Count | 101 | 113 | 11.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 26.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ludwinski bearers went from 101 to 113 (+11.9% change). The surname moved up 12,491 positions in the national ranking, going from #159,712 to #147,221.
FAQ
Ludwinski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ludwinski?
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the surname Ludwinski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,636,572 residents.
How common is Ludwinski?
Ludwinski ranks #147,221 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 113 people with the surname Ludwinski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (130), 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 Ludwinski.
Has Ludwinski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ludwinski went from 101 recorded bearers to 113. That is an increase of 12 (+11.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #159,712 to #147,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Ludwinski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ludwinski, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Ludwinski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (113 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ludwinski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Ludwinski (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 Ludwinski mean?
From the Polish form of the Slavic personal name Ludvik, meaning "people's ruler". 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 Ludwinski (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 Americans have the surname Ludwinski?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.