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

Molenda, 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 Molenda surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Molenda in America

Molenda is the 29878th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Molenda surname appeared 786 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 Molenda.

We can also compare 2010 data for Molenda 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 Molenda

The surname Molenda is believed to have originated in Poland, where it was first recorded in the 16th century. It is derived from the Polish word "mielić," which means "to grind" or "to mill," suggesting that the name's bearers were originally millers or worked in a mill. The name is also related to the Polish word "młyn," meaning "mill."

In the early days, the name was commonly spelled as "Molenda" or "Molęda." Some variations in spelling included "Molędzki," "Molenda," and "Molędzki." These variations were likely due to regional differences in pronunciation and spelling conventions.

The surname Molenda is found in various historical records, including parish registers, tax rolls, and court documents from the 16th to the 19th centuries in various regions of Poland. One notable mention is in the "Akta Grodzkie i Ziemskie" (Crown and District Records) from the 17th century, which contains several references to individuals with the surname Molenda.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Molenda was Jan Molenda, born in the late 16th century in the village of Brzeźnica, located in the Kraków region of Poland. Another early bearer of the name was Maciej Molenda, who lived in the village of Łęki Małe in the Lublin region in the early 17th century.

In the 18th century, Andrzej Molenda (1720-1790) was a Polish nobleman and landowner from the Sandomierz region. Towards the end of the 19th century, Józef Molenda (1860-1924) was a prominent Polish painter and teacher, known for his landscapes and portraits.

Other notable individuals with the surname Molenda include Andrzej Molenda (born 1947), a Polish journalist and author, and Karol Molenda (1884-1966), a Polish engineer and inventor who patented several innovations in the field of aviation.

While the surname Molenda is predominantly found in Poland, it has also been carried by individuals of Polish descent in other parts of the world, particularly in countries with significant Polish immigration, such as the United States, Canada, and Australia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Molenda

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

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

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

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