2000
#121,780
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 131
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Nowaczewski
A Polish surname derived from the word "nowak", meaning newcomer or settler.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Nowaczewski. 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 Nowaczewski 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 Nowaczewski 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 Nowaczewski, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Black (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Nowaczewski
The surname Nowaczewski originates from Poland, likely emerging in the late medieval or early modern period. It is derived from the Polish word "nowak," meaning "newcomer" or "new settler," suggesting that the name was initially given to someone who had recently arrived in a particular area.
The name Nowaczewski is a patronymic surname, which means it was formed by adding a possessive suffix to the root word "nowak," creating "Nowaczewski" to indicate the son or descendant of Nowak. This naming convention was common in many Slavic cultures, including Poland.
Historical records from the 16th and 17th centuries mention individuals bearing the surname Nowaczewski, often in connection with various towns and villages across Poland. For instance, in the Krakow Voivodeship records of 1589, a certain Jan Nowaczewski is listed as a landowner in the village of Przybysławice.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the Nowaczewski surname was Piotr Nowaczewski, born around 1620 in the town of Sandomierz. He was a prominent merchant and trader who established a successful business exporting goods from Poland to other parts of Europe.
In the late 18th century, a notable figure named Stanisław Nowaczewski (1744-1819) emerged as a respected scholar and writer. He authored several works on Polish history and literature and served as a professor at the University of Vilnius.
During the 19th century, the Nowaczewski name gained further recognition with the accomplishments of Franciszek Nowaczewski (1812-1887), a renowned Polish painter and art educator. His works are displayed in museums across Poland and are considered important examples of the Romantic movement in Polish art.
Another individual of note was Józef Nowaczewski (1867-1935), a Polish engineer and inventor who made significant contributions to the development of early aircraft designs. He is credited with creating one of the first successful gliders in Poland.
Throughout its history, the Nowaczewski surname has been associated with various place names and locations in Poland, such as the villages of Nowaczew, Nowaczewice, and Nowaczówka, which likely originated from the root word "nowak" or were named after early settlers with the Nowaczewski surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nowaczewski
Among Census respondents with the surname Nowaczewski, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Black (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Nowaczewski 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 Nowaczewski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.7% · 111
- Two or more races2.6% · 3
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Nowaczewski
Nowaczewski 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
#131,379
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 129
-2 bearers (-1.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 9,599 places
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
-13 bearers (-10.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,649 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #121,780 | 131 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #131,379 | 129 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.5%) | Down 9,599 places |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | -13 bearers (-10.1%) | Down 13,649 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 Nowaczewski 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 | #131,379 | #145,028 | -10.4% |
| Count | 129 | 116 | -10.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Nowaczewski bearers went from 129 to 116 (-10.1% change). The surname moved down 13,649 positions in the national ranking, going from #131,379 to #145,028.
FAQ
Nowaczewski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Nowaczewski?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Nowaczewski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Nowaczewski?
Nowaczewski 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 Nowaczewski. 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 Nowaczewski.
Has Nowaczewski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Nowaczewski went from 129 recorded bearers to 116. That is a decrease of 13 (-10.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #131,379 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Nowaczewski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Nowaczewski, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and Black (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 Nowaczewski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.7% (111 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Nowaczewski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.7%), Two or More Races (2.6%), Black (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 Nowaczewski (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 Nowaczewski mean?
A Polish surname derived from the word "nowak", meaning newcomer or settler. 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 Nowaczewski (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 people have the last name Nowaczewski?
If you just want to know how many people are called Nowaczewski, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.