2000
#142,819
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Orcholski
A Polish surname derived from the placename Orcholsko.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Orcholski. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Orcholski 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Orcholski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Orcholski, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Black (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Orcholski
The surname Orcholski is of Polish origin, tracing its roots back to the 12th century. It is believed to have originated in the region of Wielkopolska, which was once part of the historic Kingdom of Poland. The name itself is derived from the Old Polish word "orchol," meaning "a farmer or a ploughman."
One of the earliest known references to the Orcholski name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Poloniae, a medieval collection of Polish historical documents dating back to the 11th century. The name appears in a document from 1247, which mentions a landowner named Piotr Orcholski.
In the 14th century, the Orcholski name began to appear more frequently in various records and manuscripts, particularly in the region of Kujawy, where many families bearing this surname settled. One notable mention is in the Księga Ziemska Kujawska (The Land Book of Kuyavia) from 1392, which lists several Orcholski landowners.
The earliest recorded example of the Orcholski name dates back to 1387, when a man named Jan Orcholski was recorded as a witness in a legal document from the town of Gniezno. This document is currently housed in the archives of the Archdiocese of Gniezno.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who have borne the Orcholski surname. One such person was Andrzej Orcholski (1572-1624), a Polish nobleman and military commander who fought in the Polish-Swedish wars of the early 17th century. Another notable figure was Stanisław Orcholski (1792-1858), a Polish writer and translator who was influential in the Polish Romantic literary movement.
Another prominent bearer of the Orcholski name was Feliks Orcholski (1845-1912), a Polish engineer and industrialist who played a significant role in the development of the Polish textile industry in the late 19th century. In the 20th century, Józef Orcholski (1909-1983) was a renowned Polish architect and urban planner, known for his contributions to the reconstruction of Warsaw after World War II.
More recently, Krzysztof Orcholski (born 1961) is a contemporary Polish politician and member of the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament, representing the Civic Platform party.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Orcholski
Among Census respondents with the surname Orcholski, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Black (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Orcholski 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 Orcholski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.4% · 104
- Two or more races4.3% · 5
- Black or African American2.6% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Orcholski
Orcholski 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
#136,449
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
+16 bearers (+15.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 6,370 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-8 bearers (-6.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 9,308 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #142,819 | 107 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #136,449 | 123 | 0.04 | +16 bearers (+15.0%) | Up 6,370 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | -8 bearers (-6.5%) | Down 9,308 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 Orcholski 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 | #136,449 | #145,757 | -6.8% |
| Count | 123 | 115 | -6.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Orcholski bearers went from 123 to 115 (-6.5% change). The surname moved down 9,308 positions in the national ranking, going from #136,449 to #145,757.
FAQ
Orcholski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Orcholski?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Orcholski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Orcholski?
Orcholski ranks #145,757 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 115 people with the surname Orcholski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), 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 Orcholski.
Has Orcholski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Orcholski went from 123 recorded bearers to 115. That is a decrease of 8 (-6.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #136,449 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Orcholski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Orcholski, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Black (2.6%). 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 Orcholski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.4% (104 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Orcholski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.4%), Two or More Races (4.3%), Black (2.6%). 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 Orcholski (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 Orcholski mean?
A Polish surname derived from the placename Orcholsko. 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 Orcholski (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 share the surname Orcholski?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.