2000
#33,169
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 650
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.24
Very Rare Last name
Miko
A surname derived from the Polish word "miko" meaning "Michael" or "son of Michael".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 799 Americans carry the last name Miko. That puts it at #34,899 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.23 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 428,979 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Miko 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
799
1 in 428,979
Census rank
#34,899
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
697
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 697 bearers of the surname Miko in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.23 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 34899th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Miko, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.3%) and Black (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Miko
The surname MIKO has its origins in Eastern Europe, specifically in Poland and Ukraine. It is believed to have originated in the late 15th or early 16th century as a nickname or diminutive form of the Slavic name "Michal" or "Michael."
In its earliest recorded instances, the name was often spelled as "Michko" or "Mychko," which were variations of the Polish and Ukrainian spellings of the name Michael. The transition to the modern spelling of "MIKO" likely occurred over time as the name was adopted and adapted by different Slavic communities.
One of the earliest known references to the name MIKO can be found in the Polish Nobility Records (Zapiski Heraldyczne) from the 16th century, where it was mentioned in connection with a family of minor nobility from the Lublin region of eastern Poland.
In the 17th century, there are records of a prominent Ukrainian Cossack leader named Petro MIKO, who played a significant role in the Cossack uprisings against Polish rule. He was born around 1595 and died in 1647.
Another notable bearer of the surname was Jakub MIKO, a Polish poet and writer who lived in the late 18th and early 19th centuries (1756-1828). He is best known for his satirical works and contributions to the Polish Enlightenment movement.
In the 19th century, the name MIKO was also found in historical records from the regions of Galicia (now part of modern-day Ukraine and Poland) and Bukovina (now part of Romania and Ukraine). One example is Hryhoriy MIKO, a Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest and writer who lived from 1835 to 1923.
A more contemporary figure was Jerzy MIKO, a Polish historian and academic who specialized in the history of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was born in 1925 and passed away in 2018.
While these are just a few examples, the surname MIKO has a rich history that spans several centuries and regions of Eastern Europe, reflecting the cultural and historical influences of the Slavic peoples who bore this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Miko
Among Census respondents with the surname Miko, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.3%) and Black (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Miko 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 Miko surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.4% · 602
- Hispanic or Latino5.3% · 37
- Black or African American2.9% · 20
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 18
- Two or more races2.6% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Miko
Miko 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
#32,485
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 708
+58 bearers (+8.9%)
Per 100,000 0.24
Rank movement Up 684 places
2020
#34,899
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 697
-11 bearers (-1.6%)
Per 100,000 0.23
Rank movement Down 2,414 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #33,169 | 650 | 0.24 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #32,485 | 708 | 0.24 | +58 bearers (+8.9%) | Up 684 places |
| 2020 | #34,899 | 697 | 0.23 | -11 bearers (-1.6%) | Down 2,414 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 Miko 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 | #32,485 | #34,899 | -7.4% |
| Count | 708 | 697 | -1.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.24 | 0.23 | -2.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Miko bearers went from 708 to 697 (-1.6% change). The surname moved down 2,414 positions in the national ranking, going from #32,485 to #34,899.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Miko
FAQ
Miko surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Miko?
Name Census estimates that about 799 living Americans carry the surname Miko. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 428,979 residents.
How common is Miko?
Miko ranks #34,899 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.23 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 697 people with the surname Miko. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (799), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.23 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.23 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 Miko.
Has Miko become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Miko went from 708 recorded bearers to 697. That is a decrease of 11 (-1.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #32,485 to #34,899.
What does the Census say about the background of Miko?
Among Census respondents with the surname Miko, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.3%) and Black (2.9%). 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 Miko in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.4% (602 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Miko appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.4%), Hispanic (5.3%), Black (2.9%). 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 Miko (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 Miko mean?
A surname derived from the Polish word "miko" meaning "Michael" or "son of Michael". 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 Miko (0.23 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 Miko?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.