Orzech last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Orzech

A surname derived from the Polish word meaning "walnut" or "nut".

Orzech, 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 Orzech surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Orzech in America

Orzech is the 36585th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Orzech surname appeared 611 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 Orzech.

We can also compare 2010 data for Orzech 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 36585 35860 2.00%
Count 611 592 3.16%
Proportion per 100k 0.21 0.22 -4.65%

The history of the last name Orzech

The surname "ORZECH" is of Polish origin, deriving from the Polish word "orzech," which means "nut." This name is believed to have first emerged in the 13th or 14th century in the region of modern-day Poland.

The name was likely initially used as a descriptive surname, referring to someone who either gathered, sold, or worked with nuts. It could also have been used as a nickname for someone with a nut-like appearance or personality trait.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name "ORZECH" can be found in the Teutonic Knights' records from the 14th century, where a certain Konrad Orzech was mentioned as a landowner in the Pomeranian region of Poland.

In the 16th century, the name appeared in various Polish church records and tax registers, indicating its presence among the general population. For example, in 1561, a record from the town of Krakow mentions a Jan Orzech, a local merchant.

The name has also been associated with several notable historical figures. One of the most prominent was Ignacy Orzech (1628-1701), a Polish Jesuit priest and mathematician who made significant contributions to the field of astronomy and calendar reform.

Another notable bearer of the name was Józef Orzech (1801-1876), a Polish painter and art teacher who was renowned for his landscapes and portraits. His works can be found in various museums across Poland.

In the 19th century, the name gained further recognition with the birth of Stanisław Orzech (1841-1917), a Polish architect and civil engineer who designed several iconic buildings in Warsaw, including the Warsaw Philharmonic.

Other notable individuals with the surname "ORZECH" include Zygmunt Orzech (1905-1981), a Polish military officer and resistance fighter during World War II, and Czesław Orzech (1932-2008), a Polish actor and theater director who appeared in numerous films and television productions.

Throughout its history, the name "ORZECH" has retained its strong ties to its Polish roots, with various spellings and variations emerging over time, such as "Orzechowski" and "Orzechowicz," which incorporate the Polish suffix "-owski" and "-owicz," respectively.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Orzech

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

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 Orzech was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 95.91% 586
Non-Hispanic Black Only 1.47% 9
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.47% 9
Hispanic Origin 0.82% 5

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 Orzech has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 95.91% 95.95% -0.04%
Black 1.47% 2.36% -46.48%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Two or More Races 1.47% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic 0.82% 1.35% -48.85%

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

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

Reference this page

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"Orzech last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/orzech-surname-popularity/.

"Orzech last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/orzech-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 December, 2024

Orzech last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/orzech-surname-popularity/.

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