2000
#136,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Mitko
A Serbian surname of possible Greek or Bulgarian origin and meaning.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Mitko. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mitko 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Mitko in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mitko, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mitko
The surname Mitko has its roots in the Slavic regions of Eastern Europe, particularly in the Balkans. It is believed to have originated in the 14th or 15th century, when surnames became more widespread.
One theory suggests that Mitko is a diminutive form of the given name Dmitriy or Demetrius, which was common among Slavic populations. In this context, Mitko may have been used as a nickname or a shortened version of these names, later adopted as a surname.
Another possibility is that Mitko derived from an occupation or a descriptive term related to a person's physical characteristics or personality traits. In some Slavic languages, the suffix "-ko" was often added to words to create diminutives or endearing forms.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Mitko can be found in historical documents and archives from regions like Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and parts of modern-day Serbia and Croatia. For example, a record from the 16th century mentions a villager named Ivan Mitko residing in the area now known as North Macedonia.
Among notable historical figures bearing the surname Mitko, one can mention Spiridon Mitko (1868-1939), a Bulgarian teacher and revolutionary who fought for the liberation of Macedonia from Ottoman rule. Another is Vasil Mitko (1902-1943), a Bulgarian partisan and communist leader who played a significant role in the resistance against the Axis powers during World War II.
In the 19th century, a family of artists and craftsmen named Mitko resided in the town of Bansko, Bulgaria. They were renowned for their woodcarving skills and contributed to the iconic architecture and decoration of churches and monasteries in the region.
Moving further back in time, there are mentions of individuals with the surname Mitko in medieval chronicles and records from the Balkan regions. For instance, a document from the 14th century refers to a landowner named Stoyan Mitko who owned estates near the town of Kratovo, now in North Macedonia.
It is worth noting that variations in spelling and regional differences may have existed, with names like Mitkov, Mitkovic, or Mitkovski being encountered in different areas and historical contexts.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mitko
Among Census respondents with the surname Mitko, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Mitko 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 Mitko surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.3% · 96
- Two or more races5.5% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.5% · 5
- Black or African American1.8% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mitko
Mitko 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
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+8 bearers (+7.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,521 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-11 bearers (-9.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,142 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #136,783 | 113 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+7.1%) | Down 1,521 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-9.1%) | Down 11,142 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 Mitko 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 | #138,304 | #149,446 | -8.1% |
| Count | 121 | 110 | -9.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mitko bearers went from 121 to 110 (-9.1% change). The surname moved down 11,142 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #149,446.
FAQ
Mitko surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mitko?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Mitko. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Mitko?
Mitko ranks #149,446 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 110 people with the surname Mitko. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), 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 Mitko.
Has Mitko become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mitko went from 121 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 11 (-9.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Mitko?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mitko, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.5%). 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 Mitko in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.3% (96 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mitko appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.3%), Two or More Races (5.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (4.5%). 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 Mitko (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 Mitko mean?
A Serbian surname of possible Greek or Bulgarian origin and meaning. 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 Mitko (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 Mitko?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.