2000
#12,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,271
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.84
Rare Last name
Niemiec
A Polish surname derived from the word for a German person or someone of German descent or origin.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,555 Americans carry the last name Niemiec. That puts it at #13,154 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 134,150 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Niemiec 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Niemiec with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.6K
1 in 134,150
Census rank
#13,154
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,228 bearers of the surname Niemiec in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13154th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Niemiec, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.1%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Niemiec
The surname NIEMIEC is of Polish origin, derived from the word "niemiec" which means "a person who cannot speak" or "a foreigner". It likely originated in the 12th or 13th century when it was used to refer to people who did not speak the local Polish language or dialect.
The name can be traced back to various regions within modern-day Poland, including the areas around Krakow, Wroclaw, and Poznan. It is believed to have been initially used as a descriptive term or nickname before eventually becoming an inherited surname.
Some of the earliest recorded instances of the surname NIEMIEC can be found in medieval Polish documents and records from the 14th and 15th centuries. For example, a person named Jan Niemiec is mentioned in a 1397 record from the town of Lublin.
In the 16th century, the name appears in the Polish Armorial Compendium, a collection of coats of arms and heraldic descriptions, indicating that some families bearing the NIEMIEC surname had achieved a level of nobility or distinction at that time.
One notable historical figure with the surname NIEMIEC was Jan Niemiec (1506-1572), a Polish lawyer and author who served as a judge in the city of Krakow. Another was Marcin Niemiec (1550-1612), a Polish theologian and writer who published works on religious topics.
In the 18th century, a man named Maciej Niemiec (1734-1804) was a prominent Polish painter and artist known for his religious works and portraits. Around the same time, Michał Niemiec (1751-1818) was a Polish military officer who fought in the Kościuszko Uprising against the Russian Empire.
Moving into the 19th century, Józef Niemiec (1819-1897) was a Polish writer and journalist who contributed to various publications and advocated for Polish independence from foreign rule.
While the NIEMIEC surname has its roots in Poland, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and immigration. However, its origins can be traced back to the historical regions of modern-day Poland, where it emerged as a descriptive term for those who could not speak the local language or dialect.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Niemiec
Among Census respondents with the surname Niemiec, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.1%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Niemiec 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 Niemiec surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.3% · 2,123
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 47
- Two or more races2.0% · 44
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 9
- Black or African American0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Niemiec
Niemiec 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
#13,300
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,293
+22 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.78
Rank movement Down 789 places
2020
#13,154
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,228
-65 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Up 146 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,511 | 2,271 | 0.84 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,300 | 2,293 | 0.78 | +22 bearers (+1.0%) | Down 789 places |
| 2020 | #13,154 | 2,228 | 0.75 | -65 bearers (-2.8%) | Up 146 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 Niemiec 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 | #13,300 | #13,154 | 1.1% |
| Count | 2,293 | 2,228 | -2.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.78 | 0.75 | -4.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Niemiec bearers went from 2,293 to 2,228 (-2.8% change). The surname moved up 146 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,300 to #13,154.
FAQ
Niemiec surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Niemiec?
Name Census estimates that about 2,555 living Americans carry the surname Niemiec. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 134,150 residents.
How common is Niemiec?
Niemiec ranks #13,154 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,228 people with the surname Niemiec. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,555), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.75 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Niemiec.
Has Niemiec become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Niemiec went from 2,293 recorded bearers to 2,228. That is a decrease of 65 (-2.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,300 to #13,154.
What does the Census say about the background of Niemiec?
Among Census respondents with the surname Niemiec, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.1%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Niemiec in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.3% (2,123 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Niemiec appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.3%), Hispanic (2.1%), Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Niemiec (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 Niemiec mean?
A Polish surname derived from the word for a German person or someone of German descent or origin. 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 Niemiec (0.75 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 people have the surname Niemiec?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.