2000
#150,436
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Miroslaw
A surname derived from a Slavic given name meaning "peaceful glory".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Miroslaw. 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 Miroslaw 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 Miroslaw 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 Miroslaw, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%) and Black (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Miroslaw
The surname Miroslaw originated in Poland, tracing its roots back to the Middle Ages. It is a compound name formed from the Slavic elements "mir" meaning peace and "slaw" meaning glory or fame, thus translating to "peaceful glory" or "glorious peace."
The name first appeared in historical records from the 13th century, found in medieval manuscripts and documents from the regions of Greater Poland and Silesia. Early variations of the spelling included Miroslau, Myroslav, and Miroslaus.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Miroslaw name was Miroslav of Cieszyn, a Polish nobleman and military commander who lived in the late 13th century. He is mentioned in chronicles from the time for his role in defending the Duchy of Opole against Bohemian invaders.
In the 14th century, the name appears in connection with the village of Miroslawice, located in the modern-day Łódź Voivodeship of central Poland. This place name likely derived from an early settler named Miroslaw, reflecting the common practice of naming settlements after their founders or landowners.
Notable historical figures with the surname Miroslaw include Jan Miroslaw (1556-1623), a Polish poet and translator during the Renaissance period, and Kazimierz Miroslaw (1832-1899), a 19th-century Polish painter and art professor.
Other prominent individuals bearing this name were Stanisław Miroslaw (1875-1941), a Polish lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Sejm (parliament) in the early 20th century, and Mirosław Hermaszewski (born 1941), a Polish Air Force pilot and the first Polish astronaut to travel into space, aboard the Soyuz 30 mission in 1978.
Throughout its history, the Miroslaw surname has maintained a strong connection to its Polish roots, reflecting the cultural and linguistic heritage of the Slavic peoples who have shaped the region over centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Miroslaw
Among Census respondents with the surname Miroslaw, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%) and Black (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Miroslaw 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 Miroslaw surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.6% · 115
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Miroslaw
Miroslaw 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
#140,157
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
+19 bearers (+19.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 10,279 places
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,631 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #150,436 | 100 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #140,157 | 119 | 0.04 | +19 bearers (+19.0%) | Up 10,279 places |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 2,631 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 Miroslaw 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 | #140,157 | #142,788 | -1.9% |
| Count | 119 | 119 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Miroslaw bearers went from 119 to 119 (+0.0% change). The surname moved down 2,631 positions in the national ranking, going from #140,157 to #142,788.
FAQ
Miroslaw surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Miroslaw?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Miroslaw. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Miroslaw?
Miroslaw 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 Miroslaw. 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 Miroslaw.
Has Miroslaw become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Miroslaw went from 119 recorded bearers to 119. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #140,157 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Miroslaw?
Among Census respondents with the surname Miroslaw, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%) and Black (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 Miroslaw in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.6% (115 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Miroslaw appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.6%), Hispanic (1.7%), Black (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 Miroslaw (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 Miroslaw mean?
A surname derived from a Slavic given name meaning "peaceful glory". 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 Miroslaw (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 Americans have the surname Miroslaw?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.