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

Olenski, 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 Olenski surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Olenski in America

Olenski is the 81772nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Olenski surname appeared 231 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 Olenski.

We can also compare 2010 data for Olenski 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 Olenski

The surname OLENSKI is of Polish origin, deriving from the Old Polish word "olcha" meaning "alder tree." It is believed to have emerged during the medieval period, likely between the 11th and 13th centuries, as a descriptive name for individuals living near or associated with areas where alder trees thrived.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name OLENSKI can be found in the 14th-century Polish manuscript "Księga Henrykowska," which documented land ownership and taxation records. The spelling "Olęski" appeared in this text, likely referring to an individual from the village of Olęsko or a similar location.

In the 15th century, the name OLENSKI was also mentioned in the "Metryka Koronna," a collection of administrative records maintained by the Polish Crown. This suggests that individuals bearing this surname had gained some prominence and recognition within the nobility or landed gentry of the time.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name OLENSKI became more widespread across various regions of Poland. Notable figures from this period include Jan Olenski (1532-1598), a Polish nobleman and military commander who fought in the Livonian War, and Katarzyna Olenski (1587-1642), a renowned herbalist and healer known for her expertise in traditional Polish medicine.

In the 18th century, the OLENSKI surname appeared in the records of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. One notable individual was Michał Olenski (1723-1789), a wealthy landowner and patron of the arts who commissioned several architectural projects in the city of Kraków.

As the OLENSKI name spread throughout Eastern Europe, it also appeared in various spellings and variations, such as Olenski, Oliński, and Olieński, reflecting regional linguistic differences and orthographic conventions.

Other notable individuals with the OLENSKI surname include:

1. Józef Olenski (1805-1872), a Polish artist and painter known for his landscapes and portraiture.
2. Wiktoria Olenski (1840-1912), a Polish educator and advocate for women's rights, who founded several schools for girls.
3. Stanisław Olenski (1868-1934), a Polish engineer and inventor, credited with developing early designs for the modern ballpoint pen.
4. Zofia Olenski (1901-1988), a Polish-American writer and translator, known for her translations of Polish literature into English.
5. Andrzej Olenski (1923-2015), a Polish-born American physicist and academic, who made significant contributions to the field of nuclear physics.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Olenski

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

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

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

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