2000
#5,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,009
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.23
Rare Last name
Nowicki
A Polish toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "new village" or "new town."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,465 Americans carry the last name Nowicki. That puts it at #5,893 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.89 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 53,017 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Nowicki 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 Nowicki with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.5K
1 in 53,017
Census rank
#5,893
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,638 bearers of the surname Nowicki in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.89 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5893rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Nowicki, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Nowicki
The surname Nowicki originates from Poland and is derived from the Polish word "nowy", meaning "new". It likely emerged as a descriptive name, referring to someone who lived in a newly established settlement or was a recent arrival to an area.
The earliest recorded instances of the Nowicki surname date back to the 15th century in various historical records and documents from the Polish region. Some of the earliest known bearers of the name include Jakub Nowicki, a landowner mentioned in a 1420 land registry from the Krakow area, and Marcin Nowicki, a merchant whose name appears in a trade document from Gdansk in 1467.
Throughout the centuries, variations in the spelling of the surname emerged, such as Nowycki, Nowicky, and Nowytzki, reflecting regional dialects and the evolution of the Polish language.
In the 16th century, the Nowicki surname was found in various Polish noble families, suggesting its widespread adoption among the gentry class. One notable figure from this period was Jan Nowicki (1540-1605), a Polish nobleman and military commander who participated in several conflicts against the Ottoman Empire.
The surname Nowicki also gained prominence in the religious and academic spheres. Andrzej Nowicki (1581-1631) was a renowned Polish Jesuit scholar and theologian who authored several works on philosophy and religion.
As the Polish diaspora spread across Europe and beyond, the Nowicki surname traveled with them. In the 19th century, Józef Nowicki (1805-1867) was a Polish-American author and journalist who played a significant role in promoting Polish culture and literature in the United States.
Other notable individuals with the Nowicki surname include Zygmunt Nowicki (1857-1937), a Polish architect and urban planner who designed numerous buildings and urban spaces in Warsaw and Lodz, and Jerzy Nowicki (1923-2013), a renowned Polish film director and screenwriter known for his contributions to the Polish Cinema of Moral Anxiety movement.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nowicki
Among Census respondents with the surname Nowicki, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Nowicki 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 Nowicki surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.5% · 5,270
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 178
- Two or more races2.3% · 131
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 36
- Black or African American0.2% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Nowicki
Nowicki 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
#5,727
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,056
+47 bearers (+0.8%)
Per 100,000 2.05
Rank movement Down 388 places
2020
#5,893
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,638
-418 bearers (-6.9%)
Per 100,000 1.89
Rank movement Down 166 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,339 | 6,009 | 2.23 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,727 | 6,056 | 2.05 | +47 bearers (+0.8%) | Down 388 places |
| 2020 | #5,893 | 5,638 | 1.89 | -418 bearers (-6.9%) | Down 166 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 Nowicki 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 | #5,727 | #5,893 | -2.9% |
| Count | 6,056 | 5,638 | -6.9% |
| Per 100K | 2.05 | 1.89 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Nowicki bearers went from 6,056 to 5,638 (-6.9% change). The surname moved down 166 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,727 to #5,893.
FAQ
Nowicki surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Nowicki?
Name Census estimates that about 6,465 living Americans carry the surname Nowicki. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 53,017 residents.
How common is Nowicki?
Nowicki ranks #5,893 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.89 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,638 people with the surname Nowicki. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,465), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.89 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.89 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Nowicki.
Has Nowicki become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Nowicki went from 6,056 recorded bearers to 5,638. That is a decrease of 418 (-6.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,727 to #5,893.
What does the Census say about the background of Nowicki?
Among Census respondents with the surname Nowicki, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Nowicki in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (5,270 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Nowicki appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.5%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Nowicki (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 Nowicki mean?
A Polish toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "new village" or "new town." 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 Nowicki (1.89 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 Nowicki?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.