2000
#19,657
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,269
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.47
Rare Last name
Perkowski
A Polish surname derived from the name of a town or indicating origin.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,424 Americans carry the last name Perkowski. That puts it at #21,445 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.42 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 240,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Perkowski 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
1.4K
1 in 240,698
Census rank
#21,445
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,242 bearers of the surname Perkowski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.42 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 21445th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Perkowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (1.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Perkowski
The surname Perkowski is of Polish origin, originating in the 15th century. It is derived from the Polish word "perkoz," which means "grebe" or a type of water bird. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a body of water where these birds were found, or perhaps someone who hunted or worked with these birds.
The earliest recorded mention of the surname Perkowski can be found in a document from the city of Krakow, dated 1487, referring to a man named Jan Perkowski. Another early example is Marcin Perkowski, a Polish nobleman who lived in the 16th century and was a member of the Polish Sejm (parliament) in the late 1500s.
In the 17th century, the name appears in records from the village of Perkowo, located in the Masovian Voivodeship of central Poland. It is possible that the name originated from this place name, or that the place was named after someone with the surname Perkowski.
One notable bearer of the name was Ignacy Perkowski, a Polish mathematician and astronomer who lived from 1792 to 1856. He made contributions to the fields of celestial mechanics and the calculation of planetary orbits.
In the 19th century, Stanisław Perkowski (1819-1891) was a Polish writer and journalist who was active in the Polish independence movement and the January Uprising against Russian rule.
Another significant figure was Franciszek Perkowski (1890-1964), a Polish chemist and academic who made important contributions to the study of organic chemistry and the development of new dye compounds.
The surname Perkowski has also been found in historical records from other parts of Europe, such as Germany and Ukraine, likely due to migration and intermarriage with families of Polish descent.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Perkowski
Among Census respondents with the surname Perkowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (1.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Perkowski 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 Perkowski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.9% · 1,191
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 31
- Two or more races1.2% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Perkowski
Perkowski 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
#20,829
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,267
-2 bearers (-0.2%)
Per 100,000 0.43
Rank movement Down 1,172 places
2020
#21,445
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,242
-25 bearers (-2.0%)
Per 100,000 0.42
Rank movement Down 616 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #19,657 | 1,269 | 0.47 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #20,829 | 1,267 | 0.43 | -2 bearers (-0.2%) | Down 1,172 places |
| 2020 | #21,445 | 1,242 | 0.42 | -25 bearers (-2.0%) | Down 616 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 Perkowski 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 | #20,829 | #21,445 | -3.0% |
| Count | 1,267 | 1,242 | -2.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.43 | 0.42 | -3.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Perkowski bearers went from 1,267 to 1,242 (-2.0% change). The surname moved down 616 positions in the national ranking, going from #20,829 to #21,445.
FAQ
Perkowski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Perkowski?
Name Census estimates that about 1,424 living Americans carry the surname Perkowski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 240,698 residents.
How common is Perkowski?
Perkowski ranks #21,445 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.42 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 1,242 people with the surname Perkowski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,424), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.42 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.42 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 Perkowski.
Has Perkowski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Perkowski went from 1,267 recorded bearers to 1,242. That is a decrease of 25 (-2.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #20,829 to #21,445.
What does the Census say about the background of Perkowski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Perkowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (1.2%). 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 Perkowski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.9% (1,191 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Perkowski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.9%), Hispanic (2.5%), Two or More Races (1.2%). 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 Perkowski (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 Perkowski mean?
A Polish surname derived from the name of a town or indicating origin. 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 Perkowski (0.42 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 have the last name Perkowski?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans have the surname Perkowski on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.