2000
#136,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Polasko
A Polish locational surname likely derived from a place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Polasko. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Polasko 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Polasko in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Polasko, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%) and Two or More Races (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Polasko
The surname Polasko is of Polish origin and dates back to the 14th century. It is believed to have originated from the region of Polesie, a historical region located in modern-day Belarus, Ukraine, and Poland. The name likely derives from the Polish word "pole," meaning "field" or "plain," and the suffix "-sko," which was commonly used to denote someone from a particular place or region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Polasko can be found in the Akta Grodzkie, a collection of court records from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In the 15th century, a man named Jan Polasko was mentioned in these records, though no further details about him have been preserved.
In the 16th century, a nobleman named Andrzej Polasko was known to have owned lands in the Lublin region of Poland. His name appears in several land deeds and legal documents from that time period.
During the 17th century, a notable figure with the surname Polasko was Katarzyna Polasko, a renowned herbalist and healer who lived in the village of Brok, near Warsaw. Her reputation for using natural remedies to treat various ailments spread throughout the region, and she is mentioned in several contemporary accounts.
In the late 18th century, a Polish soldier named Stanisław Polasko fought in the Kościuszko Uprising against the Russian Empire. He was captured and imprisoned but later released after the conflict ended in 1794.
Another prominent individual with the surname Polasko was Franciszek Polasko, a Polish artist and painter who lived from 1801 to 1873. He is known for his landscapes and portraits, several of which are displayed in museums across Poland.
Throughout history, the name Polasko has also been associated with various place names in Poland, such as Polaskówka, a village in the Podkarpackie region, and Polaskowo, a town in the Warmian-Masurian region.
While the surname Polasko is not as common today as it was in the past, it remains a part of Poland's rich cultural heritage and serves as a reminder of the country's diverse regional identities and traditions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Polasko
Among Census respondents with the surname Polasko, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%) and Two or More Races (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Polasko 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 Polasko surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.3% · 117
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Polasko
Polasko 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
#132,206
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 128
+15 bearers (+13.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 4,577 places
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
-9 bearers (-7.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,582 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 | #132,206 | 128 | 0.04 | +15 bearers (+13.3%) | Up 4,577 places |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | -9 bearers (-7.0%) | Down 10,582 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 Polasko 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 | #132,206 | #142,788 | -8.0% |
| Count | 128 | 119 | -7.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Polasko bearers went from 128 to 119 (-7.0% change). The surname moved down 10,582 positions in the national ranking, going from #132,206 to #142,788.
FAQ
Polasko surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Polasko?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Polasko. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Polasko?
Polasko ranks #142,788 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 119 people with the surname Polasko. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), 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 Polasko.
Has Polasko become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Polasko went from 128 recorded bearers to 119. That is a decrease of 9 (-7.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #132,206 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Polasko?
Among Census respondents with the surname Polasko, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%) and Two or More Races (0.8%). 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 Polasko in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.3% (117 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Polasko appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%), Two or More Races (0.8%). 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 Polasko (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 Polasko mean?
A Polish locational surname likely derived from a place name. 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 Polasko (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 have the last name Polasko?
See how many people are called Polasko on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.