2000
#114,166
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 142
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Milinski
A surname of Polish origin meaning "inhabitant of a mill town."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Milinski. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Milinski 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
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Milinski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Milinski, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.5%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Milinski
The surname Milinski has its origins in Poland. It first appeared in the 16th century and is derived from the Polish place name Milin or Milino, which means "mill town" or "place with mills." It is likely that the original bearer of this surname lived near a mill or worked as a miller.
The earliest recorded example of the Milinski surname dates back to 1547, when it appeared in a Polish parish record from the village of Milin, located in the Masovian region of central Poland. The name was also found in other Masovian villages like Milino and Milinowo during that time period.
In the 17th century, the Milinski name spread to other parts of Poland, including the region of Greater Poland (Wielkopolska) and the Pomeranian Voivodeship. There are references to Mikolaj Milinski, a landowner from Poznan who lived in the late 1600s.
The Milinski surname can also be found in historical records from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which existed from the 16th to the 18th century. One notable bearer was Stanislaw Milinski, a Polish nobleman and soldier who fought in the Polish-Muscovite War (1654-1667).
Over time, the spelling of the surname evolved, with variations like Milinsky, Milinski, Milinsci, and Milensky appearing in different regions. Some of these variations may have been influenced by the places where the name took root, such as villages or towns with similar-sounding names.
Other notable individuals with the Milinski surname include:
1. Jan Milinski (1799-1858), a Polish artist and painter known for his religious and historical works.
2. Karol Milinski (1805-1860), a Polish composer and music teacher from Warsaw.
3. Zygmunt Milinski (1823-1894), a Polish writer and journalist who published several novels and short stories.
4. Wladyslaw Milinski (1858-1935), a Polish engineer and pioneer in the field of telecommunications.
5. Maria Milinska (1904-1988), a Polish actress and theater director who performed in both Poland and France.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Milinski
Among Census respondents with the surname Milinski, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.5%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Milinski 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 Milinski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.5% · 105
- Hispanic or Latino7.5% · 9
- Two or more races3.3% · 4
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Milinski
Milinski 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
#123,796
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 139
-3 bearers (-2.1%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 9,630 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
-19 bearers (-13.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 18,253 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #114,166 | 142 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #123,796 | 139 | 0.05 | -3 bearers (-2.1%) | Down 9,630 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | -19 bearers (-13.7%) | Down 18,253 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 Milinski 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 | #123,796 | #142,049 | -14.7% |
| Count | 139 | 120 | -13.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -19.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Milinski bearers went from 139 to 120 (-13.7% change). The surname moved down 18,253 positions in the national ranking, going from #123,796 to #142,049.
FAQ
Milinski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Milinski?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Milinski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Milinski?
Milinski ranks #142,049 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 120 people with the surname Milinski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Milinski.
Has Milinski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Milinski went from 139 recorded bearers to 120. That is a decrease of 19 (-13.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #123,796 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Milinski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Milinski, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.5%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Milinski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.5% (105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Milinski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.5%), Hispanic (7.5%), Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Milinski (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 Milinski mean?
A surname of Polish origin meaning "inhabitant of a mill town." 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 Milinski (0.04 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 Milinski?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.