2000
#138,741
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Plachecki
A surname of Polish origin meaning "one who is paid" or "a rent collector."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 120 Americans carry the last name Plachecki. That puts it at #152,989 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,856,286 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Plachecki 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
120
1 in 2,856,286
Census rank
#152,989
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
105
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 105 bearers of the surname Plachecki in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152989th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Plachecki, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Black (1.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Plachecki
The surname Plachecki is of Polish origin, and it is believed to have originated in the 16th or 17th century. The name is derived from the Polish word "plachta," which means a sheet or a sail. It is likely that the name originated as a descriptive surname for someone who worked with sails or sheets, perhaps a sailor or a weaver.
In the early days, surnames were often based on a person's occupation, physical characteristics, or place of origin. Plachecki is a patronymic surname, meaning it was formed by adding a suffix to the root word, in this case, "plachta."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Plachecki can be found in the Catholic Church records of the city of Krakow, Poland, dating back to the late 16th century. The name is also mentioned in the records of the nearby town of Wieliczka, which was known for its salt mines.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Plachecki family appears to have been prominent in the region around Krakow and Wieliczka. Jan Plachecki (1615-1683) was a respected merchant and landowner in Wieliczka, while Tomasz Plachecki (1678-1742) was a member of the city council in Krakow.
In the 19th century, the Plachecki name spread throughout Poland as families migrated to different regions. Stanislaw Plachecki (1810-1888) was a prominent lawyer and politician who served in the Polish Parliament.
As Polish immigrants began to settle in other parts of the world, the Plachecki name became more widespread. In the late 19th century, Andrzej Plachecki (1845-1912) emigrated from Poland to the United States and settled in Chicago, where he established a successful bakery business.
Another notable figure with the Plachecki surname was Maria Plachecki (1892-1972), a Polish author and journalist who wrote extensively about the struggles of women in early 20th century Poland.
While the origins of the Plachecki surname are rooted in Poland, it has since spread to other parts of the world, with individuals bearing this name making their mark in various fields.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Plachecki
Among Census respondents with the surname Plachecki, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Black (1.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Plachecki 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 Plachecki surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.2% · 101
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
- Two or more races1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Plachecki
Plachecki 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
#156,044
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-7 bearers (-6.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 17,303 places
2020
#152,989
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
+1 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 3,055 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #138,741 | 111 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #156,044 | 104 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-6.3%) | Down 17,303 places |
| 2020 | #152,989 | 105 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+1.0%) | Up 3,055 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 Plachecki 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 | #156,044 | #152,989 | 2.0% |
| Count | 104 | 105 | 1.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -12.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Plachecki bearers went from 104 to 105 (+1.0% change). The surname moved up 3,055 positions in the national ranking, going from #156,044 to #152,989.
FAQ
Plachecki surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Plachecki?
Name Census estimates that about 120 living Americans carry the surname Plachecki. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,856,286 residents.
How common is Plachecki?
Plachecki ranks #152,989 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 105 people with the surname Plachecki. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (120), 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 Plachecki.
Has Plachecki become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Plachecki went from 104 recorded bearers to 105. That is an increase of 1 (+1.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #156,044 to #152,989.
What does the Census say about the background of Plachecki?
Among Census respondents with the surname Plachecki, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.2%. The next largest groups are Black (1.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%). 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 Plachecki in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.2% (101 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Plachecki appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.2%), Black (1.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%). 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 Plachecki (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 Plachecki mean?
A surname of Polish origin meaning "one who is paid" or "a rent collector." 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 Plachecki (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 Plachecki?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.