2000
#8,986
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,345
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.24
Rare Last name
Markowski
A surname of Polish origin, indicating someone from a place called Marki or Markow.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,350 Americans carry the last name Markowski. That puts it at #10,482 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.98 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 102,315 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Markowski 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 Markowski with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.4K
1 in 102,315
Census rank
#10,482
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,921 bearers of the surname Markowski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.98 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10482nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Markowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Markowski
The surname Markowski is of Polish origin, derived from the personal name Markow, which in turn comes from the ancient Roman name Marcus. It is believed to have originated in the 13th or 14th century in the region that is now central Poland.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Markowski can be found in a document from 1432, which mentions a landowner named Jan Markowski in the village of Marki, near Warsaw. This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with this particular location.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Markowski name appears in various historical records across Poland, including church registers, tax rolls, and land deeds. One notable bearer of the name was Andrzej Markowski, a Polish nobleman and military commander who fought in the Polish-Swedish War of the mid-17th century.
The name Markowski has also been found in several old manuscripts and chronicles, such as the "Codex Diplomaticus Poloniae" from the 15th century, which mentions a nobleman named Stanislaw Markowski.
Throughout history, there have been several prominent individuals with the surname Markowski. These include Jan Markowski (1519-1591), a Polish poet and translator; Karol Markowski (1801-1876), a Polish painter and art educator; Waclaw Markowski (1847-1935), a Polish journalist and political activist; Andrzej Markowski (1924-1986), a Polish linguist and lexicographer; and Marek Markowski (born 1963), a Polish philosopher and writer.
It is worth noting that the name Markowski has undergone some variations in spelling over time, with alternative forms such as Markovski, Markovskiy, and Markovskii being found in historical records, reflecting the influence of different languages and regional dialects.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Markowski
Among Census respondents with the surname Markowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Markowski 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 Markowski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.4% · 2,699
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 109
- Two or more races2.6% · 75
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 20
- Black or African American0.4% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Markowski
Markowski 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
#9,276
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,509
+164 bearers (+4.9%)
Per 100,000 1.19
Rank movement Down 290 places
2020
#10,482
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,921
-588 bearers (-16.8%)
Per 100,000 0.98
Rank movement Down 1,206 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,986 | 3,345 | 1.24 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,276 | 3,509 | 1.19 | +164 bearers (+4.9%) | Down 290 places |
| 2020 | #10,482 | 2,921 | 0.98 | -588 bearers (-16.8%) | Down 1,206 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 Markowski 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 | #9,276 | #10,482 | -13.0% |
| Count | 3,509 | 2,921 | -16.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.19 | 0.98 | -17.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Markowski bearers went from 3,509 to 2,921 (-16.8% change). The surname moved down 1,206 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,276 to #10,482.
FAQ
Markowski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Markowski?
Name Census estimates that about 3,350 living Americans carry the surname Markowski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 102,315 residents.
How common is Markowski?
Markowski ranks #10,482 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.98 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 2,921 people with the surname Markowski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,350), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.98 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.98 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 Markowski.
Has Markowski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Markowski went from 3,509 recorded bearers to 2,921. That is a decrease of 588 (-16.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,276 to #10,482.
What does the Census say about the background of Markowski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Markowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Markowski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (2,699 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Markowski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.4%), Hispanic (3.7%), Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Markowski (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 Markowski mean?
A surname of Polish origin, indicating someone from a place called Marki or Markow. 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 Markowski (0.98 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 Markowski?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.