2000
#128,797
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Piechnik
A Polish surname derived from the word "piec" meaning "oven" or "stove."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Piechnik. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Piechnik 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
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Piechnik in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Piechnik, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Piechnik
The surname Piechnik originated in Poland, with records of the name dating back to the 16th century. The name is derived from the Polish word "piec," meaning "oven" or "stove," and the suffix "-nik," which denotes an occupation or profession. Together, "Piechnik" likely referred to a baker or someone who worked with ovens.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Metryka Koronna, a collection of records from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, where a certain Jan Piechnik is mentioned in 1578. The name also appears in various parish records and town registries from the 16th and 17th centuries in regions such as Greater Poland, Silesia, and the Kraków area.
In the 18th century, the Piechnik surname was associated with several notable figures. Andrzej Piechnik (1725-1798) was a Polish painter and engraver known for his religious works and portraits. Stanisław Piechnik (1758-1832) was a Polish soldier and military engineer who served in the armies of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and later the Duchy of Warsaw.
The 19th century saw the Piechnik name spread beyond Poland's borders. Franciszek Piechnik (1821-1895) was a Polish-born writer and journalist who emigrated to the United States and became involved in the Polish-American community in Chicago. His son, Władysław Piechnik (1851-1918), was a prominent banker and philanthropist in the city.
Another notable bearer of the Piechnik name was Józef Piechnik (1875-1943), a Polish politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament, in the interwar period. He was also active in the Polish Peasant Party and was imprisoned by the German occupiers during World War II, ultimately dying in the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Throughout its history, the Piechnik surname has maintained strong ties to its Polish roots and the occupational origins associated with baking and working with ovens. While not an extremely common surname, it has produced several notable individuals across various fields, from the arts and military to politics and business.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Piechnik
Among Census respondents with the surname Piechnik, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Piechnik 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 Piechnik surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.2% · 112
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Piechnik
Piechnik 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
-12 bearers (-9.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 20,598 places
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
+4 bearers (+3.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,900 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #128,797 | 122 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #149,395 | 110 | 0.04 | -12 bearers (-9.8%) | Down 20,598 places |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+3.6%) | Up 2,900 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 Piechnik 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 | #146,495 | 1.9% |
| Count | 110 | 114 | 3.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Piechnik bearers went from 110 to 114 (+3.6% change). The surname moved up 2,900 positions in the national ranking, going from #149,395 to #146,495.
FAQ
Piechnik surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Piechnik?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Piechnik. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Piechnik?
Piechnik ranks #146,495 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 114 people with the surname Piechnik. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), 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 Piechnik.
Has Piechnik become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Piechnik went from 110 recorded bearers to 114. That is an increase of 4 (+3.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #149,395 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Piechnik?
Among Census respondents with the surname Piechnik, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Piechnik in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.2% (112 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Piechnik appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.2%), Hispanic (0.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Piechnik (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 Piechnik mean?
A Polish surname derived from the word "piec" meaning "oven" or "stove." 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 Piechnik (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 common is the surname Piechnik?
Want to know how common the surname Piechnik is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.