2000
#5,481
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,833
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.16
Rare Last name
Malinowski
Derived from a place name meaning "from Malinowo," referring to several villages in Poland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,127 Americans carry the last name Malinowski. That puts it at #6,148 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.79 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 55,942 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Malinowski 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Malinowski with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.1K
1 in 55,942
Census rank
#6,148
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,343 bearers of the surname Malinowski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.79 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6148th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Malinowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Malinowski
The surname Malinowski is of Polish origin, derived from the town of Malinow in central Poland. The name first appeared in records in the 15th century, with various spellings such as Malinovsky and Malinowski. It is believed to have originated from the Polish word "malina," meaning "raspberry," suggesting that the earliest bearers of the name may have been associated with raspberry cultivation or lived in an area known for its raspberry bushes.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Malinowski can be found in the Metryka Koronna, a collection of historic records from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1452, a scribe named Stanislaw Malinowski is mentioned, indicating that the name was already established by the mid-15th century.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Malinowski family gained prominence in various parts of Poland. Notable individuals from this period include Jan Malinowski (1525-1592), a prominent landowner and military commander, and Katarzyna Malinowska (1610-1671), a renowned philanthropist and patron of the arts.
In the 18th century, the name Malinowski became associated with the Polish nobility, with several families bearing the name being granted coats of arms. One such family was the Malinowski clan from the region of Kuyavia, whose coat of arms featured a golden raspberry bush on a blue field.
As Poland underwent political upheavals and territorial changes in the 19th century, many Malinowski families emigrated to other parts of Europe and the Americas. Bronislaw Malinowski (1884-1942), a pioneering anthropologist and one of the most famous bearers of the name, was born in Kraków, Poland, but spent much of his life in England, where he made significant contributions to the field of anthropology.
Another notable figure was Ignacy Malinowski (1866-1945), a Polish composer and conductor who achieved recognition for his work in reviving and popularizing traditional Polish folk music.
Józef Malinowski (1898-1944) was a Polish military officer and resistance fighter during World War II, who played a crucial role in the Warsaw Uprising against the German occupation.
As the Malinowski name spread worldwide, it became associated with various professions and fields, from academia to the arts, with individuals like Wanda Malinowska (1913-1996), a renowned Polish sculptor, and Witold Malinowski (1909-1997), a Polish-American chemist and inventor.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Malinowski
Among Census respondents with the surname Malinowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Malinowski 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 Malinowski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.6% · 4,999
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 155
- Two or more races2.2% · 119
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 46
- Black or African American0.4% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Malinowski
Malinowski 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
#5,857
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,895
+62 bearers (+1.1%)
Per 100,000 2.00
Rank movement Down 376 places
2020
#6,148
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,343
-552 bearers (-9.4%)
Per 100,000 1.79
Rank movement Down 291 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,481 | 5,833 | 2.16 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,857 | 5,895 | 2.00 | +62 bearers (+1.1%) | Down 376 places |
| 2020 | #6,148 | 5,343 | 1.79 | -552 bearers (-9.4%) | Down 291 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 Malinowski 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 | #5,857 | #6,148 | -5.0% |
| Count | 5,895 | 5,343 | -9.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.00 | 1.79 | -10.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Malinowski bearers went from 5,895 to 5,343 (-9.4% change). The surname moved down 291 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,857 to #6,148.
FAQ
Malinowski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Malinowski?
Name Census estimates that about 6,127 living Americans carry the surname Malinowski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 55,942 residents.
How common is Malinowski?
Malinowski ranks #6,148 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.79 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,343 people with the surname Malinowski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,127), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.79 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.79 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Malinowski.
Has Malinowski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Malinowski went from 5,895 recorded bearers to 5,343. That is a decrease of 552 (-9.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,857 to #6,148.
What does the Census say about the background of Malinowski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Malinowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Malinowski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.6% (4,999 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Malinowski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.6%), Hispanic (2.9%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Malinowski (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 Malinowski mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "from Malinowo," referring to several villages in Poland. 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 Malinowski (1.79 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 share the surname Malinowski?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.