2000
#120,330
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 133
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Manowski
Of Polish origin, meaning "person from the village of Manowka".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Manowski. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Manowski 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
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Manowski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Manowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Manowski
The surname Manowski has its origins in Poland, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Polish word "manow," meaning "to remain" or "to dwell," indicating a person who stayed in a particular place or region. The name is also closely related to the word "manov," which refers to a manor or estate.
In the early days, Manowski was primarily found in the regions of Silesia and Greater Poland. It was common among the landed gentry and nobility, as well as among landowners and estate managers. The earliest recorded instance of the name can be found in a document from the Poznan region, dated 1567, where it is spelled "Manovskiy."
One notable historical reference to the name Manowski comes from the Prussian census of 1776, where several families bearing this surname are listed as residing in the towns of Gorzow and Zielona Gora. This suggests that the name had spread beyond its initial areas of concentration by that time.
Among the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Manowski was Jan Manowski (1523-1582), a Polish nobleman and landowner from the village of Manovice, near Krakow. Another prominent figure was Katarzyna Manowska (1625-1698), a renowned herbalist and healer from the town of Bydgoszcz.
In the 19th century, the name gained further recognition with the birth of Stanislaw Manowski (1835-1905), a Polish writer and poet who was a member of the "Young Poland" literary movement. His contemporary, Franciszek Manowski (1841-1912), was a respected lawyer and judge in the city of Poznan.
Another notable figure was Wladyslaw Manowski (1878-1942), a Polish military officer and World War I veteran who played a significant role in the defense of Warsaw during the 1920 Polish-Soviet War.
As the name spread across Europe and beyond, it took on various spellings, such as Manowsky, Manovskiy, and Manovskyi, reflecting the linguistic and cultural influences of different regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Manowski
Among Census respondents with the surname Manowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Manowski 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 Manowski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.1% · 106
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Manowski
Manowski 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
#120,187
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 144
+11 bearers (+8.3%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 143 places
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-36 bearers (-25.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 30,748 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 | #120,187 | 144 | 0.05 | +11 bearers (+8.3%) | Up 143 places |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | -36 bearers (-25.0%) | Down 30,748 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 Manowski 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 | #120,187 | #150,935 | -25.6% |
| Count | 144 | 108 | -25.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -27.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Manowski bearers went from 144 to 108 (-25.0% change). The surname moved down 30,748 positions in the national ranking, going from #120,187 to #150,935.
FAQ
Manowski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Manowski?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Manowski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Manowski?
Manowski ranks #150,935 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 108 people with the surname Manowski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), 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 Manowski.
Has Manowski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Manowski went from 144 recorded bearers to 108. That is a decrease of 36 (-25.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #120,187 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Manowski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Manowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Manowski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.1% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Manowski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.1%), Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Manowski (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 Manowski mean?
Of Polish origin, meaning "person from the village of Manowka". 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 Manowski (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 common is the surname Manowski?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Manowski on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.