2010
#137,327
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Minkov
A Slavic surname derived from the personal name Minko, meaning "small" or "little".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Minkov. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Minkov 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Minkov in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Minkov, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Black (2.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Minkov
The surname Minkov is of Slavic origin, specifically from the Balkans region. It is believed to have originated in Bulgaria during the Middle Ages, likely between the 10th and 14th centuries.
Minkov is a patronymic surname, meaning it was derived from the given name of a father or ancestor. In this case, it is thought to have originated from the personal name "Minko," which is a diminutive form of the Slavic name "Mina."
The name "Mina" can be traced back to the Old Church Slavonic word "mina," which means "peace" or "tranquility." This suggests that the earliest bearers of the surname Minkov may have been associated with peaceful or serene qualities.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Minkov can be found in a 14th-century Bulgarian manuscript that documented land ownership and taxation records. The name was spelled as "Minkoff" in this document.
Another notable historical figure bearing the surname Minkov was Ivan Minkov, a Bulgarian revolutionary who lived from 1827 to 1891. He played a significant role in the struggle for Bulgarian independence from the Ottoman Empire.
In the 19th century, a prominent Bulgarian painter named Stanislav Minkov (1857-1927) gained recognition for his landscapes and portraits depicting Bulgarian rural life.
Another individual of note was Georgi Minkov (1882-1945), a Bulgarian politician who served as the Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 1935 to 1936.
More recently, Nikolay Minkov (1922-2005) was a distinguished Bulgarian chess player and International Grandmaster. He was recognized as one of the strongest players in the world during the mid-20th century.
While the surname Minkov is most commonly associated with Bulgaria, it has also been found in other Slavic countries, such as Serbia and North Macedonia, likely due to migration patterns and cultural exchanges within the Balkan region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Minkov
Among Census respondents with the surname Minkov, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Black (2.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Minkov 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 Minkov surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.8% · 114
- Black or African American2.5% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Minkov
Minkov appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
-3 bearers (-2.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,461 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #137,327 | 122 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.5%) | Down 5,461 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 Minkov 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 | #137,327 | #142,788 | -4.0% |
| Count | 122 | 119 | -2.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Minkov bearers went from 122 to 119 (-2.5% change). The surname moved down 5,461 positions in the national ranking, going from #137,327 to #142,788.
FAQ
Minkov surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Minkov?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Minkov. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Minkov?
Minkov ranks #142,788 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 119 people with the surname Minkov. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), 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 Minkov.
Has Minkov become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Minkov went from 122 recorded bearers to 119. That is a decrease of 3 (-2.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #137,327 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Minkov?
Among Census respondents with the surname Minkov, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Black (2.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%). 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 Minkov in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.8% (114 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Minkov appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.8%), Black (2.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%). 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 Minkov (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 Minkov mean?
A Slavic surname derived from the personal name Minko, meaning "small" or "little". 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 Minkov (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 have the surname Minkov?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.