Musial
A Polish surname derived from the word "muzyka" meaning "music."
According to the 2010 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,125 Americans carry the last name Musial. That puts it at #15,833 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 161,296 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Musial surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, 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
2.1K
1 in 161,296
Census rank
#15,833
2010 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,838 bearers of the surname Musial in its 2010 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15833rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Musial, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Two or More Races (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Musial
The surname Musial has its origins in Poland. It is a locational name derived from the Polish town of Muszyna, located in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. The name is believed to have originated in the 13th century, and likely refers to a person who lived in or came from the town of Muszyna.
Early records of the name can be found in various Polish historical documents, including church records and land registers. One of the earliest known references to the name appears in a document from the Kraków Archdiocese, dated 1472, which mentions a person named Stanislaw Musial.
The name Musial is thought to have evolved from the Slavic root "mucha," which means "fly." This suggests that the original form of the name may have been "Muchala" or "Muchalik," referring to someone who had a connection with flies, perhaps a beekeeper or someone who lived near a swampy area.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Musial was particularly prominent in the regions of Lesser Poland and Silesia, where many families bearing this surname were recorded in various town and village records.
Notable individuals with the surname Musial include:
1. Stan Musial (1920-2013), a legendary American baseball player who spent his entire 22-year career with the St. Louis Cardinals. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969.
2. Ignacy Musial (1835-1909), a Polish painter and artist known for his landscapes and genre scenes depicting rural life in Poland.
3. Jerzy Musial (born 1950), a Polish politician and member of the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament, representing the Law and Justice party.
4. Zbigniew Musial (born 1952), a Polish historian and scholar specializing in the history of World War II and the Holocaust.
5. Tadeusz Musial (1938-2021), a Polish chess grandmaster and one of the strongest players in the world during the 1960s and 1970s.
While the name Musial may have originated in a specific Polish town, it has since spread across various parts of the world, particularly in countries with significant Polish diaspora communities.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Musial
Among Census respondents with the surname Musial, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Two or More Races (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Musial bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2010 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.
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 Musial surname at the time of the 2010 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.4%
- Hispanic or Latino1.8%
- Two or more races1.0%
- Black or African American0.4%
Year on year
2010 vs 2010 Census
How has the Musial surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
| Metric | 2010 | 2010 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #15,833 | #15,833 | 0.0% |
| Count | 1,838 | 1,838 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.62 | 0.62 | 0.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2010 Census, the number of Musial bearers went from 1,838 to 1,838 (+0.0% change). The surname held its position in the national ranking, going from #15,833 to #15,833.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Musial
FAQ
Musial surname: questions and answers
How common is the last name Musial?
The surname Musial holds position #15,833 in the US Census Bureau's surname ranking, with an estimated 2,125 living bearers. It occurs at a rate of 0.62 per 100,000 Americans.
What is the ethnic background of the Musial surname?
Among Census respondents with the surname Musial, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Two or More Races (1.0%). These figures come from the 2010 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Where does this surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These tables list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2010 Census, along with a frequency rate and self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.