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

Olszewski, 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 Olszewski surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Olszewski in America

Olszewski is the 6164th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Olszewski surname appeared 5,554 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Olszewski.

We can also compare 2010 data for Olszewski 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 Olszewski

The surname Olszewski is of Polish origin, derived from the word "olsza" meaning "alder tree" in Polish. This name likely originated in areas of Poland where alder trees were abundant, such as near rivers or wetlands.

The name can be traced back to the 15th century in Poland. One of the earliest recorded instances is from a document dated 1467, which mentions a person named Mikolaj Olszewski from the village of Olszowa near Krakow.

Variations of the spelling include Olszewski, Olszowsky, Olschewski, and Olschowsky. These different spellings reflect regional dialects and language variations within Poland over time.

In the 16th century, the name appeared in various Polish records, such as court documents and land registries. One notable example is Jan Olszewski, a landowner and nobleman from the Krakow region who lived in the mid-1500s.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Olszewski name became more widespread across Poland, with families bearing this surname found in different regions of the country. Some notable individuals from this time period include Kazimierz Olszewski (1637-1699), a Polish military officer and nobleman, and Franciszek Olszewski (1722-1784), a Polish Catholic priest and writer.

In the 19th century, several individuals with the Olszewski surname gained recognition. Antoni Olszewski (1824-1904) was a Polish painter and artist known for his landscapes and portraits. Wladyslaw Olszewski (1837-1905) was a Polish engineer and inventor who contributed to the development of early telephone systems.

Another notable person with this surname was Stanislaw Olszewski (1860-1915), a Polish chemist and physicist who conducted pioneering work on the liquefaction of gases and low-temperature physics.

As the Olszewski name spread beyond Poland due to migration and diaspora, it can be found in various forms in other countries, such as Olshewski in the United States and Olshevsky in Russia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Olszewski

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

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

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

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