2000
#146,011
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Makowiec
A surname derived from the Polish word for "poppy seed", referring to someone associated with poppy seeds or the poppy seed trade.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 128 Americans carry the last name Makowiec. That puts it at #147,954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,677,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Makowiec 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
128
1 in 2,677,768
Census rank
#147,954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
112
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 112 bearers of the surname Makowiec in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Makowiec, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Makowiec
The surname Makowiec is of Polish origin, deriving from the word "mak" which means "poppy" in Polish. It likely originated in the medieval period, referring to someone who cultivated poppies or lived near a poppy field.
The name is associated with various regions in Poland, particularly in the central and southern areas where poppy cultivation was common. It may have originated as a descriptive nickname or a locational surname.
Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name Makowiec can be found in historical documents dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries, such as parish records and land registers. The spelling variations include Makowicz, Makowiak, and Makowski.
One notable individual with this surname was Jan Makowiec (1610-1678), a Polish noble and military commander who fought in the Khmelnytsky Uprising against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the mid-17th century.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Józef Makowiec (1835-1908), a Polish priest and writer who authored several works on religious and historical topics.
In the 19th century, Franciszek Makowiec (1810-1884) was a Polish painter and art teacher known for his landscape and genre paintings.
Ludwik Makowiec (1889-1957) was a Polish engineer and inventor who played a significant role in the development of the Polish automotive industry in the early 20th century.
More recently, Janusz Makowiec (1933-2018) was a Polish actor and theater director who had a successful career spanning over six decades.
While the surname Makowiec is primarily found in Poland, it has also spread to other countries due to immigration, particularly in the United States and Canada, where Polish communities have settled.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Makowiec
Among Census respondents with the surname Makowiec, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Makowiec 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 Makowiec surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.6% · 106
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 2
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Makowiec
Makowiec 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
#144,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
+11 bearers (+10.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 1,870 places
2020
#147,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
-3 bearers (-2.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,813 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #146,011 | 104 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #144,141 | 115 | 0.04 | +11 bearers (+10.6%) | Up 1,870 places |
| 2020 | #147,954 | 112 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.6%) | Down 3,813 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 Makowiec 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 | #144,141 | #147,954 | -2.6% |
| Count | 115 | 112 | -2.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Makowiec bearers went from 115 to 112 (-2.6% change). The surname moved down 3,813 positions in the national ranking, going from #144,141 to #147,954.
FAQ
Makowiec surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Makowiec?
Name Census estimates that about 128 living Americans carry the surname Makowiec. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,677,768 residents.
How common is Makowiec?
Makowiec ranks #147,954 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 112 people with the surname Makowiec. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (128), 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 Makowiec.
Has Makowiec become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Makowiec went from 115 recorded bearers to 112. That is a decrease of 3 (-2.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #144,141 to #147,954.
What does the Census say about the background of Makowiec?
Among Census respondents with the surname Makowiec, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Makowiec in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.6% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Makowiec appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.6%), Hispanic (1.8%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Makowiec (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 Makowiec mean?
A surname derived from the Polish word for "poppy seed", referring to someone associated with poppy seeds or the poppy seed trade. 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 Makowiec (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 Makowiec?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.