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

Motyka, 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 Motyka surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Motyka in America

Motyka is the 21609th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Motyka surname appeared 1,207 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 Motyka.

We can also compare 2010 data for Motyka 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 Motyka

The surname Motyka originates from Poland, where it first appeared in the 15th century. It is derived from the Polish word "motyka," which means "hoe" or "mattock," a type of hand tool used for digging and cultivating soil. This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who worked as a farmer or gardener.

The earliest recorded instances of the Motyka surname can be found in various historical documents and records from the Polish regions of Małopolska and Silesia. In the 16th century, the name appeared in the town of Krakow, where a certain Jan Motyka was mentioned in a register from 1582.

In the 17th century, the Motyka name was associated with several notable individuals. One of them was Stanisław Motyka, a Polish military commander who fought in the Khmelnytsky Uprising against the Ukrainian Cossacks in the 1640s and 1650s.

Another prominent figure bearing the Motyka surname was Wojciech Motyka, a Polish poet and writer who lived in the late 18th century. He was known for his patriotic works that celebrated Polish history and culture.

In the 19th century, the Motyka name gained recognition through the work of Franciszek Motyka, a Polish painter and artist who specialized in portraiture and religious scenes. He was born in 1814 and his paintings can be found in various churches and galleries across Poland.

Towards the end of the 19th century, there was also a Polish botanist named Józef Motyka, who made significant contributions to the study of plant taxonomy and ecology. He was born in 1869 and worked as a professor at the University of Lwów (now Lviv, Ukraine).

As the Motyka surname spread across Poland and into neighboring regions, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Motyka, Motycka, and Motyčka, reflecting regional linguistic differences and dialectal variations.

While the name Motyka is most commonly associated with Poland, it has also been found in other Slavic countries, such as Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia, likely due to migration and cultural exchange between these regions throughout history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Motyka

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

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

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

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