2000
#11,057
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,637
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.98
Rare Last name
Marciniak
Derived from the Polish given name Marcin, a cognate of Martin, meaning "dedicated to Mars" or "warlike."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,785 Americans carry the last name Marciniak. That puts it at #12,227 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.81 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 123,072 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Marciniak 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 Marciniak with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.8K
1 in 123,072
Census rank
#12,227
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,429 bearers of the surname Marciniak in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.81 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12227th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Marciniak, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.3%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Marciniak
The surname Marciniak originates from Poland, where it first appeared in the 14th century. It is derived from the Polish masculine name Marcin, which is the Polish form of the Latin name Martinus, meaning "dedicated to Mars," the Roman god of war.
The name Marciniak is a patronymic surname, meaning it was formed by adding the suffix "-iak" to the name Marcin. This type of surname indicated that the person was the son or descendant of someone named Marcin. In Polish, the suffix "-iak" is a common way to form patronymic surnames.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Marciniak surname can be found in the Akta Grodzkie, a collection of historical court records from the 15th to 18th centuries in Poland. In these records, the name is sometimes spelled as "Marcziniak" or "Marczynyak," reflecting the variations in spelling that were common before standardization.
The Marciniak surname has been borne by several notable individuals throughout history, including Józef Marciniak (1829-1908), a Polish painter and professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. Another notable bearer of the name was Mieczysław Marciniak (1886-1963), a Polish athlete who competed in the 1912 and 1920 Olympic Games.
In the 19th century, Jan Marciniak (1856-1939) was a prominent Polish architect who designed several notable buildings in Warsaw, including the Neo-Renaissance style Zachęta Palace, which now houses the National Gallery of Art.
Another individual of note was Józef Marciniak (1910-1998), a Polish Roman Catholic priest who served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Gdańsk from 1973 to 1992.
During World War II, Stanisław Marciniak (1910-1998) was a member of the Polish resistance movement and served as a liaison officer between the Polish Underground State and the Polish Armed Forces in the West. He later became a prominent politician and diplomat after the war.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have borne the surname Marciniak, reflecting its deep roots and significance within Polish culture and society.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marciniak
Among Census respondents with the surname Marciniak, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.3%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Marciniak 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 Marciniak surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.8% · 2,278
- Two or more races2.3% · 57
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 54
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 21
- Black or African American0.6% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Marciniak
Marciniak 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
#11,821
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,647
+10 bearers (+0.4%)
Per 100,000 0.90
Rank movement Down 764 places
2020
#12,227
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,429
-218 bearers (-8.2%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Down 406 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,057 | 2,637 | 0.98 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,821 | 2,647 | 0.90 | +10 bearers (+0.4%) | Down 764 places |
| 2020 | #12,227 | 2,429 | 0.81 | -218 bearers (-8.2%) | Down 406 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 Marciniak 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 | #11,821 | #12,227 | -3.4% |
| Count | 2,647 | 2,429 | -8.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.90 | 0.81 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Marciniak bearers went from 2,647 to 2,429 (-8.2% change). The surname moved down 406 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,821 to #12,227.
FAQ
Marciniak surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Marciniak?
Name Census estimates that about 2,785 living Americans carry the surname Marciniak. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 123,072 residents.
How common is Marciniak?
Marciniak ranks #12,227 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.81 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,429 people with the surname Marciniak. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,785), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.81 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.81 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Marciniak.
Has Marciniak become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Marciniak went from 2,647 recorded bearers to 2,429. That is a decrease of 218 (-8.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,821 to #12,227.
What does the Census say about the background of Marciniak?
Among Census respondents with the surname Marciniak, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.3%) and Hispanic (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 Marciniak in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.8% (2,278 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Marciniak appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.8%), Two or More Races (2.3%), Hispanic (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 Marciniak (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 Marciniak mean?
Derived from the Polish given name Marcin, a cognate of Martin, meaning "dedicated to Mars" or "warlike." 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 Marciniak (0.81 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 Marciniak?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans have the surname Marciniak on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.