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

Niska, 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 Niska surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Niska in America

Niska is the 59171st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Niska surname appeared 342 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 Niska.

We can also compare 2010 data for Niska 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 Niska

The surname Niska originated in Poland and is derived from the Polish word "niski," which means "short" or "low." It likely originated as a descriptive nickname for someone of short stature or someone who lived in a low-lying area.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Niska can be traced back to the 16th century in various Polish records and documents. One of the earliest known references is found in the Akta Grodzkie, a collection of court records from the Kraków region, where a person named Jan Niska is mentioned in an entry dated 1543.

In the 17th century, the name Niska appeared in the parish records of the village of Dobra, located in the Masovian Voivodeship of central Poland. A farmer named Marcin Niska is recorded as having lived in the village during this time.

During the 18th century, the Niska surname was found in the records of the city of Poznań, where a merchant named Jakub Niska was documented as a member of the city's guilds in the year 1712.

One notable individual with the surname Niska was Michał Niska, a Polish soldier and military officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. Born in 1782 in the town of Piotrków Trybunalski, he served in the Polish Legions under the command of Jan Henryk Dąbrowski and later rose to the rank of colonel in the Duchy of Warsaw's army.

Another historical figure with the Niska surname was Józef Niska, a Polish painter and artist who lived in the late 19th century. Born in 1859 in the town of Łódź, he is known for his landscape paintings and portraits, some of which can be found in the collections of museums in Poland.

In the early 20th century, a Polish politician named Stefan Niska served as a member of the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament, representing the city of Kalisz between 1922 and 1927.

The name Niska has also been found in historical documents related to the Polish diaspora, suggesting that some individuals with this surname emigrated to other countries over the centuries. For instance, records show a family with the surname Niska settled in the city of Chicago, United States, in the late 19th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Niska

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

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

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

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