2000
#134,929
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Nerkowski
A surname of Polish origin indicating a geographical association.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Nerkowski. 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 Nerkowski 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 Nerkowski 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 Nerkowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Nerkowski
The surname Nerkowski originated in Poland, with its earliest known bearers residing in the region of Warmia-Masuria in the late medieval period. The name is derived from the Polish word "ner," which means "kidney," and the suffix "-kowski," indicating a place of origin or association.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Nerkowski name can be found in the Prussian Land Registry of 1437, where a certain Jan Nerkowski is listed as a landowner in the village of Nerkowo, near the town of Olsztyn. This suggests that the name may have initially been a toponymic reference to the settlement of Nerkowo, which itself likely derived its name from a geographic feature resembling a kidney.
During the 16th century, the Nerkowski family established itself as minor nobility in the region, with several members serving as local administrators and officials under the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Notably, Jakub Nerkowski (1525-1591) was a prominent jurist and lawyer who served as a judge in the court of King Sigismund II Augustus.
As the Nerkowski family spread across Poland in the following centuries, they often adopted variations in spelling, such as Nierkowski, Nerkowsky, or Nerkowicz. One notable bearer of the name was Franciszek Nerkowski (1758-1823), a Polish military officer who fought in the Kościuszko Uprising against Russian forces.
In the 19th century, the Nerkowski surname can be found among Polish immigrants to the United States, with some early arrivals settling in the Midwestern states of Illinois and Wisconsin. Jan Nerkowski (1835-1912), a farmer from the Poznań region, was among the first to establish a Polish community in the town of Pulaski, Wisconsin.
Another significant figure was Zygmunt Nerkowski (1888-1957), a Polish-American writer and journalist who worked for several Polish-language newspapers in Chicago and Detroit. He was known for his efforts in preserving Polish culture and traditions among the diaspora communities.
Throughout its history, the Nerkowski surname has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, ranging from farmers and artisans to lawyers, soldiers, and writers. While not a particularly common name, it remains a distinct marker of Polish heritage and the enduring legacy of the Warmia-Masuria region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nerkowski
Among Census respondents with the surname Nerkowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Nerkowski 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 Nerkowski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.4% · 106
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Nerkowski
Nerkowski 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
#129,825
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 131
+16 bearers (+13.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 5,104 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-21 bearers (-16.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 19,621 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,929 | 115 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #129,825 | 131 | 0.04 | +16 bearers (+13.9%) | Up 5,104 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -21 bearers (-16.0%) | Down 19,621 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 Nerkowski 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 | #129,825 | #149,446 | -15.1% |
| Count | 131 | 110 | -16.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Nerkowski bearers went from 131 to 110 (-16.0% change). The surname moved down 19,621 positions in the national ranking, going from #129,825 to #149,446.
FAQ
Nerkowski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Nerkowski?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Nerkowski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Nerkowski?
Nerkowski 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 Nerkowski. 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 Nerkowski.
Has Nerkowski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Nerkowski went from 131 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 21 (-16.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #129,825 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Nerkowski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Nerkowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Nerkowski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.4% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Nerkowski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.4%), Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Nerkowski (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 Nerkowski mean?
A surname of Polish origin indicating a geographical association. 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 Nerkowski (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 common is the surname Nerkowski?
Want to know how many people have the last name Nerkowski? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.