2000
#138,741
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Nosky
A surname of Eastern European origin meaning "nasal" or "from the nose".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Nosky. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Nosky 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Nosky in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Nosky, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Nosky
The surname Nosky is believed to have originated in the Slavic regions of Eastern Europe, particularly in areas that are now part of modern-day Poland and Ukraine. It likely emerged during the late medieval period, around the 14th or 15th century.
The name Nosky is thought to be derived from the Slavic root "nos," meaning "nose." It may have initially been used as a descriptive nickname for someone with a prominent or distinctive nose. Such nicknames were common in the Middle Ages and often became hereditary surnames.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nosky can be found in the Polish town of Kazimierz Dolny, where a merchant named Jan Nosky is mentioned in a trade register from the year 1459. This suggests that the name was already established in the region by the mid-15th century.
In the 16th century, a variant spelling of the name, "Noski," appears in the records of the city of Krakow, Poland. This may have been an alternative spelling used by a branch of the family or a regional variation.
During the 17th century, a notable figure bearing the Nosky surname was Andrzej Nosky, a Polish military officer who fought in the Polish-Swedish War of 1626-1629. He was born in 1592 and died in battle in 1629.
In the 18th century, a Romanian noble named Vasile Nosky was recorded as a landowner in the region of Transylvania. He was born in 1712 and lived until 1785.
Another individual of note was Karolina Nosky, a Polish writer and poet who lived from 1796 to 1865. She was known for her romantic poetry and was part of the Polish literary circle during the early 19th century.
In the late 19th century, a Ukrainian painter named Mykhailo Nosky gained recognition for his landscapes and portraiture. He was born in 1874 and lived until 1942, spending much of his career in the city of Lviv.
As the name Nosky spread across Eastern Europe, it likely underwent various spelling variations and adaptations based on local languages and dialects. However, the core root of the name and its association with the Slavic regions have remained consistent throughout its history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nosky
Among Census respondents with the surname Nosky, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Nosky 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 Nosky surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.7% · 111
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Nosky
Nosky 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
+9 bearers (+8.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 487 places
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
-4 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,800 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #138,741 | 111 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #139,228 | 120 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+8.1%) | Down 487 places |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.3%) | Down 5,800 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 Nosky 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 | #145,028 | -4.2% |
| Count | 120 | 116 | -3.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Nosky bearers went from 120 to 116 (-3.3% change). The surname moved down 5,800 positions in the national ranking, going from #139,228 to #145,028.
FAQ
Nosky surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Nosky?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Nosky. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Nosky?
Nosky ranks #145,028 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 116 people with the surname Nosky. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), 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 Nosky.
Has Nosky become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Nosky went from 120 recorded bearers to 116. That is a decrease of 4 (-3.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #139,228 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Nosky?
Among Census respondents with the surname Nosky, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Nosky in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.7% (111 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Nosky appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.7%), Hispanic (2.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Nosky (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 Nosky mean?
A surname of Eastern European origin meaning "nasal" or "from the nose". 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 Nosky (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 Nosky?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.