2010
#154,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Pokornowski
Polish surname indicating someone from the Pokorna region or a reference to humility.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Pokornowski. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pokornowski 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Pokornowski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pokornowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.1%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pokornowski
The surname Pokornowski originated in Poland, with its earliest recorded examples dating back to the 15th century. It is derived from the Polish word "pokorny," meaning "humble" or "submissive," suggesting that the name may have originally been a descriptive nickname for a person with a meek or mild demeanor.
The Pokornowski name is concentrated primarily in the central and southern regions of Poland, particularly in the voivodeships of Łódź, Mazowieckie, and Śląskie. It is believed to have originated in the area around the city of Łódź, which was historically part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Pokornowski name can be found in the records of the Kraków Archdiocese from the late 15th century, where a certain Jan Pokornowski is mentioned as a landowner in the village of Ożarów near Warsaw.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Pokornowski family gained prominence in the Polish nobility, with several members holding influential positions in the local administration and military. Notably, Michał Pokornowski (1530-1597) served as a court chamberlain to King Zygmunt III Waza and was involved in diplomatic missions to the Ottoman Empire.
In the 18th century, the Pokornowski family produced several notable scholars and intellectuals, including Józef Pokornowski (1722-1789), a renowned mathematician and astronomer who served as a professor at the University of Kraków.
Another notable figure from this period was Katarzyna Pokornowska (1760-1832), a celebrated poet and writer who was part of the Polish Enlightenment movement and gained recognition for her patriotic poems and plays.
During the 19th century, the Pokornowski name continued to be associated with various professional fields. Antoni Pokornowski (1832-1901) was a renowned architect who designed several notable buildings in Warsaw, including the Warsaw Philharmonic.
In more recent times, one of the most famous individuals bearing the Pokornowski surname was Tadeusz Pokornowski (1908-1985), a celebrated Polish actor and theater director who was particularly known for his performances in Shakespearean plays.
While the Pokornowski name is primarily found in Poland, it has also spread to other parts of the world through emigration, particularly to countries like the United States, Canada, and Australia, where individuals with Polish heritage have settled over the past few centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pokornowski
Among Census respondents with the surname Pokornowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.1%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Pokornowski 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 Pokornowski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.1% · 100
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.9% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pokornowski
Pokornowski appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-2 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 725 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #154,907 | 105 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | -2 bearers (-1.9%) | Up 725 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 Pokornowski 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 | #154,907 | #154,182 | 0.5% |
| Count | 105 | 103 | -1.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pokornowski bearers went from 105 to 103 (-1.9% change). The surname moved up 725 positions in the national ranking, going from #154,907 to #154,182.
FAQ
Pokornowski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pokornowski?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Pokornowski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Pokornowski?
Pokornowski ranks #154,182 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 103 people with the surname Pokornowski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Pokornowski.
Has Pokornowski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pokornowski went from 105 recorded bearers to 103. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #154,907 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Pokornowski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pokornowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.1%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (2.9%). 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 Pokornowski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.1% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pokornowski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.1%), American Indian/Alaska Native (2.9%). 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 Pokornowski (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 Pokornowski mean?
Polish surname indicating someone from the Pokorna region or a reference to humility. 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 Pokornowski (0.03 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 Pokornowski?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.