2000
#139,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Makielski
A Polish surname derived from a diminutive form of the given name Maciej (Matthew).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Makielski. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Makielski 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Makielski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Makielski, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.2%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Makielski
The surname "MAKIELSKI" is of Polish origin, originating from the region of Masuria in northern Poland during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Prussian word "mak," meaning poppy, which suggests that the name may have been given to someone who cultivated or traded in poppies.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the archives of the Teutonic Knights, a German Catholic military order that ruled over parts of Prussia and Masuria in the 13th and 14th centuries. The name appears in a document dated 1347, referring to a landowner named Michał Makielski who owned a parcel of land near the town of Olsztyn.
In the 16th century, the name appears in the records of the Prussian Duchy, which was a fief of the Kingdom of Poland at the time. A notable figure bearing the name was Jan Makielski, a merchant and trader who lived in the town of Elbląg from 1521 to 1589.
During the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 17th and 18th centuries, the Makielski family was well-known in the region of Warmia, with several members holding positions in the local nobility and clergy. One such figure was Jakub Makielski (1672-1739), a canon of the Warmia Cathedral and a prominent scholar of his time.
In the 19th century, the name gained wider recognition with the birth of Władysław Makielski (1838-1914), a Polish painter and art critic who was a key figure in the development of the Realist movement in Polish art.
Another notable individual with the surname was Zygmunt Makielski (1892-1956), a Polish military officer who served in World War I and later became a general in the Polish Army during World War II, playing a crucial role in the defense of Warsaw against the German invasion in 1939.
Throughout its history, the surname "MAKIELSKI" has maintained its strong ties to the Masuria region of northern Poland, where many families bearing this name have resided for generations. While the name has remained relatively uncommon outside of Poland, it holds a significant place in the cultural and historical heritage of the region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Makielski
Among Census respondents with the surname Makielski, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.2%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Makielski 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 Makielski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.5% · 105
- Two or more races5.2% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Makielski
Makielski 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
+2 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,496 places
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+4 bearers (+3.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,225 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #139,757 | 110 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #147,253 | 112 | 0.04 | +2 bearers (+1.8%) | Down 7,496 places |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+3.6%) | Up 2,225 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 Makielski 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 | #145,028 | 1.5% |
| Count | 112 | 116 | 3.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Makielski bearers went from 112 to 116 (+3.6% change). The surname moved up 2,225 positions in the national ranking, going from #147,253 to #145,028.
FAQ
Makielski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Makielski?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Makielski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Makielski?
Makielski ranks #145,028 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 116 people with the surname Makielski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), 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 Makielski.
Has Makielski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Makielski went from 112 recorded bearers to 116. That is an increase of 4 (+3.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #147,253 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Makielski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Makielski, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.2%) and Hispanic (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 Makielski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.5% (105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Makielski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.5%), Two or More Races (5.2%), Hispanic (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 Makielski (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 Makielski mean?
A Polish surname derived from a diminutive form of the given name Maciej (Matthew). 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 Makielski (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 Makielski?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.