2000
#76,208
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 235
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.09
Very Rare Last name
Olechowski
A surname derived from a Polish place name referring to someone from Olechovice.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 274 Americans carry the last name Olechowski. That puts it at #84,529 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,250,928 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Olechowski 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
274
1 in 1,250,928
Census rank
#84,529
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
239
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 239 bearers of the surname Olechowski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 84529th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Olechowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Olechowski
The surname Olechowski has its origins in Poland, tracing back to the 11th century. It is derived from the Old Polish name Olechno, which itself stemmed from the Slavic root 'olekh', meaning 'defender' or 'protector'. The suffix '-owski' was a common Polish form indicating belonging to a certain family or place.
Early records show variations in spelling, such as Olechnowski and Olechowski, which were used interchangeably. One of the earliest known instances of the name appears in a 13th-century manuscript from the Duchy of Masovia, where a nobleman named Olechowski is mentioned as a witness to a land dispute.
In the 15th century, the Olechowski family established themselves as influential landowners in the region of Podolia, now part of modern-day Ukraine. Jan Olechowski (1420-1489) was a notable figure who served as a court advisor to King Casimir IV of Poland.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, several members of the Olechowski clan played prominent roles in Polish history. Tomasz Olechowski (1563-1627) was a respected military commander who fought in the Polish-Swedish wars, while Katarzyna Olechowska (1587-1652) was a renowned poet and patron of the arts.
The name Olechowski also appears in historical records from other parts of Europe. In the 18th century, a German family by the name of Olechowski settled in the Duchy of Mecklenburg, where they were involved in textile manufacturing. One of their descendants, Friedrich Olechowski (1789-1856), became a respected philosopher and writer.
Another notable individual bearing this surname was Józef Olechowski (1882-1943), a Polish-born architect who gained recognition for his work in designing public buildings and churches in the United States, particularly in the cities of Chicago and Milwaukee.
While the Olechowski name has its roots in Poland, it has since spread to various parts of the world, with branches of the family establishing themselves in countries such as Ukraine, Germany, and the United States, contributing to the rich tapestry of human history and cultural diversity.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Olechowski
Among Census respondents with the surname Olechowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Olechowski 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 Olechowski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.1% · 225
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 6
- Two or more races2.1% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Olechowski
Olechowski 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
#71,265
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 274
+39 bearers (+16.6%)
Per 100,000 0.09
Rank movement Up 4,943 places
2020
#84,529
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 239
-35 bearers (-12.8%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Down 13,264 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #76,208 | 235 | 0.09 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #71,265 | 274 | 0.09 | +39 bearers (+16.6%) | Up 4,943 places |
| 2020 | #84,529 | 239 | 0.08 | -35 bearers (-12.8%) | Down 13,264 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 Olechowski 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 | #71,265 | #84,529 | -18.6% |
| Count | 274 | 239 | -12.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.09 | 0.08 | -11.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Olechowski bearers went from 274 to 239 (-12.8% change). The surname moved down 13,264 positions in the national ranking, going from #71,265 to #84,529.
FAQ
Olechowski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Olechowski?
Name Census estimates that about 274 living Americans carry the surname Olechowski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,250,928 residents.
How common is Olechowski?
Olechowski ranks #84,529 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.08 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 239 people with the surname Olechowski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (274), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.08 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.08 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 Olechowski.
Has Olechowski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Olechowski went from 274 recorded bearers to 239. That is a decrease of 35 (-12.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #71,265 to #84,529.
What does the Census say about the background of Olechowski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Olechowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Olechowski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.1% (225 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Olechowski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.1%), Hispanic (2.5%), Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Olechowski (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 Olechowski mean?
A surname derived from a Polish place name referring to someone from Olechovice. 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 Olechowski (0.08 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 Olechowski?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.