2000
#136,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Narowski
A Polish surname derived from the word "narok", meaning a person from the Naro region.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 128 Americans carry the last name Narowski. That puts it at #147,954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,677,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Narowski 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
128
1 in 2,677,768
Census rank
#147,954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
112
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 112 bearers of the surname Narowski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Narowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Narowski
The surname Narowski is believed to have originated in Poland during the late medieval period, around the 14th or 15th century. It is thought to have derived from the old Polish word "nar," meaning "ravine" or "gorge," and the suffix "-owski," which denotes belonging or originating from a particular place. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near or came from an area with ravines or gorges.
One of the earliest known references to the name Narowski can be found in a Polish land registry from the late 16th century, where a certain Jan Narowski is mentioned as the owner of a small estate in the region of Podlasie. Historical records indicate that the Narowski family had roots in this area, which was then part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
In the 17th century, a notable figure with the surname Narowski was Jerzy Narowski, a Polish military commander who fought in the Polish-Swedish War (1626-1629) and the Smolensk War (1632-1634) against Russia. He was born around 1590 and died in the late 1640s.
Another individual of note was Franciszek Narowski, a Polish scholar and writer who lived in the early 18th century. He authored several works on philosophy, theology, and literature, some of which were published in Latin and Polish.
During the 19th century, the Narowski surname was also found in other parts of Europe, such as Germany and Austria, likely due to migration patterns. One example is Theodor Narowski, a German artist and painter born in 1835 in Berlin, who became known for his landscapes and portraits.
In the early 20th century, a prominent figure with the Narowski surname was Wladyslaw Narowski, a Polish politician and diplomat who served as a member of the Sejm (parliament) and later as an ambassador to several countries, including France and Italy. He was born in 1871 and died in 1944.
While the Narowski name has its roots in Poland, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to migration and diaspora communities. However, historical records suggest that the name's origins can be traced back to the Polish lands of the late medieval and early modern periods.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Narowski
Among Census respondents with the surname Narowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Narowski 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 Narowski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.3% · 109
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Narowski
Narowski 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
#139,228
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
+7 bearers (+6.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,445 places
2020
#147,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
-8 bearers (-6.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,726 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 | #139,228 | 120 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+6.2%) | Down 2,445 places |
| 2020 | #147,954 | 112 | 0.04 | -8 bearers (-6.7%) | Down 8,726 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 Narowski 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 | #139,228 | #147,954 | -6.3% |
| Count | 120 | 112 | -6.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Narowski bearers went from 120 to 112 (-6.7% change). The surname moved down 8,726 positions in the national ranking, going from #139,228 to #147,954.
FAQ
Narowski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Narowski?
Name Census estimates that about 128 living Americans carry the surname Narowski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,677,768 residents.
How common is Narowski?
Narowski ranks #147,954 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 112 people with the surname Narowski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (128), 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 Narowski.
Has Narowski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Narowski went from 120 recorded bearers to 112. That is a decrease of 8 (-6.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #139,228 to #147,954.
What does the Census say about the background of Narowski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Narowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Narowski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.3% (109 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Narowski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.3%), Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Narowski (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 Narowski mean?
A Polish surname derived from the word "narok", meaning a person from the Naro region. 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 Narowski (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 Narowski?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.