2000
#132,259
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Oparowski
A Polish surname derived from the town of Oparów or meaning "connected with Oparów".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 122 Americans carry the last name Oparowski. That puts it at #152,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,809,462 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Oparowski 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
122
1 in 2,809,462
Census rank
#152,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
106
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 106 bearers of the surname Oparowski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Oparowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.6%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Oparowski
The surname Oparowski originates from Poland, dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Polish word "opara," meaning "vapor" or "mist," suggesting that the name may have been given to someone who lived in a misty or foggy area. The suffix "-owski" indicates that the name belongs to the Polish nobility or gentry.
The earliest known record of the Oparowski name can be found in the Prussian Duchy archives, where a nobleman named Jan Oparowski was mentioned in a land dispute in the year 1587. Another notable early reference is in the records of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, where a Michał Oparowski was listed as a member of the Sejm (parliament) in 1632.
In the 17th century, the Oparowski family was prominent in the region of Masovia, which was then part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. A notable figure was Stanisław Oparowski (1622-1693), a military commander who served in the Polish-Ottoman War and the Northern Wars against Sweden.
During the 18th century, the Oparowski name was found in various Polish noble families, such as the Oparowski-Borkowie and the Oparowski-Radziwiłłowie. One of the most famous individuals with this surname was Ignacy Oparowski (1745-1815), a Polish nobleman and politician who served as a deputy to the Four-Year Sejm and supported the Polish Constitution of May 3, 1791.
In the 19th century, the Oparowski name was associated with several notable artists and writers. Józef Oparowski (1810-1895) was a Polish painter and illustrator known for his romantic landscape paintings. Another prominent figure was Wacław Oparowski (1845-1912), a Polish novelist and playwright who wrote under the pen name "Władysław Syrokomla."
As the Oparowski name spread throughout Poland, it also appeared in various spelling variations, such as Oparowsky, Oparowski-Bork, and Oparowski-Radziwiłł. These variations often reflected the family's noble lineage or the region from which they originated.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Oparowski
Among Census respondents with the surname Oparowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.6%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Oparowski 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 Oparowski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.6% · 96
- Hispanic or Latino6.6% · 7
- Two or more races2.8% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Oparowski
Oparowski 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
#149,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-8 bearers (-6.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 17,136 places
2020
#152,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-4 bearers (-3.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,944 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #132,259 | 118 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #149,395 | 110 | 0.04 | -8 bearers (-6.8%) | Down 17,136 places |
| 2020 | #152,339 | 106 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.6%) | Down 2,944 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 Oparowski 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 | #149,395 | #152,339 | -2.0% |
| Count | 110 | 106 | -3.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -11.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Oparowski bearers went from 110 to 106 (-3.6% change). The surname moved down 2,944 positions in the national ranking, going from #149,395 to #152,339.
FAQ
Oparowski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Oparowski?
Name Census estimates that about 122 living Americans carry the surname Oparowski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,809,462 residents.
How common is Oparowski?
Oparowski ranks #152,339 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 106 people with the surname Oparowski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (122), 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 Oparowski.
Has Oparowski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Oparowski went from 110 recorded bearers to 106. That is a decrease of 4 (-3.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #149,395 to #152,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Oparowski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Oparowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.6%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Oparowski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.6% (96 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Oparowski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.6%), Hispanic (6.6%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Oparowski (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 Oparowski mean?
A Polish surname derived from the town of Oparów or meaning "connected with Oparów". 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 Oparowski (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 are called Oparowski?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Oparowski at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.