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

Minka, 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 Minka surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Minka in America

Minka is the 138304th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Minka surname appeared 121 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 Minka.

We can also compare 2010 data for Minka 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 Minka

The surname Minka originated in Poland, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the late 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the Polish word "minka," meaning "facial expression" or "grimace." This suggests that the name may have initially been a descriptive nickname given to someone with a distinctive facial expression or mannerism.

In the early 17th century, the name appeared in various Polish records and documents, including parish registers and tax records. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname was Jan Minka, a farmer from the village of Krakow, mentioned in a land deed from 1612.

The name Minka has also been linked to certain place names within Poland. For instance, there is a small village called Minki in the Masovian Voivodeship, which may have contributed to the development of the surname in that region.

Throughout the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the surname Minka. One such person was Franciszek Minka (1770-1842), a Polish painter and illustrator renowned for his religious artwork and portraiture. Another was Stanislaw Minka (1836-1901), a Polish lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Galician Sejm (regional parliament) in the late 19th century.

During the 19th century, the Minka surname began to spread beyond Poland due to emigration. In the United States, one of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname was Joseph Minka (1845-1912), a Polish immigrant who settled in Chicago and worked as a carpenter.

Another notable bearer of the Minka name was Wladyslaw Minka (1887-1957), a Polish-born architect who emigrated to Brazil in the early 20th century. He designed several iconic buildings in São Paulo, including the Paulistano Athletic Club and the São Paulo Stock Exchange.

While the name Minka is relatively uncommon outside of Poland and Polish diaspora communities, it has left its mark on history through the achievements of individuals who have carried this surname over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Minka

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!