Find out how popular the last name Michalski is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Michalski.

Michalski, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Michalski surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Michalski in America

Michalski is the 5072nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Michalski surname appeared 6,914 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Michalski.

We can also compare 2010 data for Michalski to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Michalski

The surname Michalski originated in Poland and is a Polish patronymic name derived from the personal name Michal, which is the Polish form of the Hebrew name Michael, meaning "who is like God?". The suffix "-ski" indicates a possessive form and literally translates to "belonging to Michal".

This surname can be traced back to the 14th century in various regions of Poland, including Mazovia, Greater Poland, and Lesser Poland. It was commonly found among the Polish nobility and gentry, as well as among peasants and townspeople.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Michalski can be found in the Akta Grodzkie, a collection of court records from the 15th and 16th centuries in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. These records mention several individuals with the surname Michalski, including Jan Michalski, a landowner from the Krakow region in the late 15th century.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Michalski name appeared in various historical documents, such as tax registers, parish records, and municipal archives. Notable individuals from this period include Andrzej Michalski (1555-1628), a Polish Renaissance poet and translator, and Katarzyna Michalska (1609-1684), a Polish noblewoman and benefactor.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Michalski surname continued to be widespread throughout Poland. Prominent figures with this name include Franciszek Michalski (1742-1818), a Polish historian and author, and Kazimierz Michalski (1817-1893), a Polish painter and art teacher.

In the 20th century, several individuals with the Michalski surname made significant contributions in various fields. For example, Konstanty Michalski (1879-1947) was a renowned Polish art historian and professor at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, while Józef Michalski (1909-1998) was a Polish Catholic priest and theologian who played an important role in the Second Vatican Council.

Other notable individuals with the surname Michalski include Mieczysław Michalski (1876-1965), a Polish engineer and inventor, and Jan Michalski (1943-2002), a Polish film director and screenwriter best known for his critically acclaimed films "Noce i dnie" (Nights and Days) and "Panny z Wilka" (The Maids of Wilko).

Overall, the surname Michalski has a long and rich history in Poland, spanning various social classes and professions, and continues to be a prominent surname in the country today.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Michalski

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Michalski.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Michalski was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Michalski has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Michalski was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Michalski, please contact us.

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