2000
#136,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Podemski
Originally denoted someone from the Polish village of Podemski.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 120 Americans carry the last name Podemski. 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 Podemski 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 Podemski 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 Podemski, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Podemski
The surname Podemski is of Polish origin, originating in the late medieval period. It derived from the Polish topographic name "Podlesie," meaning "under the forest" or "by the forest." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this name lived near or in a forested area.
The name Podemski likely originated in the region of Masovia, located in central Poland. Historical records from the 15th century show variations of the spelling, such as Podleski and Podlaszewski, indicating its roots in the area around the Podlasie region.
One of the earliest documented references to the name Podemski can be found in the Metryka Koronna, a collection of administrative records from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, dating back to the 16th century. This suggests that the name was already well-established by that time.
In the 17th century, a notable bearer of the name was Jan Podemski, a Polish nobleman and military commander who fought in the Polish-Swedish War (1626-1629). Another prominent figure was Michał Podemski, a Polish painter and art theorist who lived in the late 18th century (1758-1831).
During the 19th century, the name Podemski gained recognition through the works of Józef Podemski, a Polish writer and playwright born in 1835. His most famous work was the play "Krakowiacy i Górale" (The Cracovians and the Highlanders), which depicted the cultural traditions of the Cracow region.
Another noteworthy individual was Franciszek Podemski (1844-1915), a Polish engineer and inventor who made significant contributions to the development of early aviation technology. He designed and built one of the first successful gliders in Poland, which he tested in 1891.
In the early 20th century, Stanisław Podemski (1887-1944) was a Polish military officer who served in the Polish Legions during World War I and later became a general in the Polish Army during the interwar period.
While the name Podemski is not as common globally as some other Polish surnames, it remains a significant part of Poland's cultural and historical heritage, with its roots tracing back to the medieval era and the forested regions of central Poland.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Podemski
Among Census respondents with the surname Podemski, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Podemski 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 Podemski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.4% · 97
- Two or more races3.8% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Podemski
Podemski 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
#142,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
+4 bearers (+3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,325 places
2020
#152,989
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
-12 bearers (-10.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,881 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #136,783 | 113 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #142,108 | 117 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+3.5%) | Down 5,325 places |
| 2020 | #152,989 | 105 | 0.04 | -12 bearers (-10.3%) | Down 10,881 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 Podemski 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 | #142,108 | #152,989 | -7.7% |
| Count | 117 | 105 | -10.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -12.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Podemski bearers went from 117 to 105 (-10.3% change). The surname moved down 10,881 positions in the national ranking, going from #142,108 to #152,989.
FAQ
Podemski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Podemski?
Name Census estimates that about 120 living Americans carry the surname Podemski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,856,286 residents.
How common is Podemski?
Podemski 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 Podemski. 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 Podemski.
Has Podemski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Podemski went from 117 recorded bearers to 105. That is a decrease of 12 (-10.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #142,108 to #152,989.
What does the Census say about the background of Podemski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Podemski, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%). 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 Podemski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Podemski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.4%), Two or More Races (3.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%). 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 Podemski (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 Podemski mean?
Originally denoted someone from the Polish village of Podemski. 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 Podemski (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 Americans have the surname Podemski?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.