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

Michniak, 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 Michniak surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Michniak in America

Michniak is the 86314th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Michniak surname appeared 216 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Michniak.

We can also compare 2010 data for Michniak 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 Michniak

The surname Michniak has its origins in the Polish language. It is derived from the Polish word "michna," which means a broom or a whisk. This suggests that the name may have originally been an occupational surname, referring to someone who made or sold brooms.

The earliest known record of the Michniak surname dates back to the 16th century in the region of Lesser Poland, which is located in the southern part of modern-day Poland. During this time, the name was often spelled as "Michniak" or "Michniok."

In the 17th century, the Michniak surname appeared in various historical records and manuscripts from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. One notable example is the record of a Michniak family residing in the town of Krakow, which was a major cultural and economic center at the time.

The earliest recorded individual with the Michniak surname was Jan Michniak, born in 1624 in the village of Niepołomice, near Krakow. He was a farmer and landowner, and his descendants continued to live in the region for several generations.

Another notable Michniak was Marcin Michniak, born in 1748 in the town of Tarnów. He was a respected scholar and educator who taught at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, one of the oldest universities in Europe.

In the 19th century, the Michniak surname gained prominence with the birth of Franciszek Michniak (1817-1892). He was a Polish writer and poet, known for his patriotic works that celebrated Polish culture and history.

Another significant figure was Władysław Michniak (1858-1937), a Polish lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Sejm, the Polish parliament, in the early 20th century.

Towards the end of the 19th century, the Michniak surname began to spread beyond Poland as Polish immigrants settled in other parts of Europe and the Americas. One notable individual from this period was Antoni Michniak (1870-1944), a Polish-American engineer who contributed to the development of early aircraft and aviation technologies.

While the Michniak surname has its roots in Poland, it has since become a part of the cultural heritage of many countries around the world, reflecting the diaspora of Polish communities throughout history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Michniak

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

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 Michniak 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 Michniak 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 Michniak was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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