2000
#62,961
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 297
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.11
Very Rare Last name
Rajski
A surname derived from the Polish word "raj" meaning paradise or heaven.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 366 Americans carry the last name Rajski. That puts it at #66,829 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.11 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 936,487 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rajski 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
366
1 in 936,487
Census rank
#66,829
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
319
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 319 bearers of the surname Rajski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.11 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 66829th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rajski, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rajski
The surname RAJSKI originates from Poland, where it first appeared in the 16th century. It is derived from the Polish word "raj," meaning "paradise" or "garden." The name likely referred to someone who lived near or worked on a particularly beautiful or idyllic piece of land.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the RAJSKI name can be found in the parish records of the village of Ożarów Mazowiecki, near Warsaw, from the late 1500s. The name was also present in other regions of central and eastern Poland during this time period.
In the 17th century, the RAJSKI surname appeared in various historical documents and records across Poland, including land deeds, court transcripts, and church registries. A notable bearer of the name from this era was Jan RAJSKI, a landowner and local official in the town of Końskie, who lived from around 1620 to 1685.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the RAJSKI name continued to be found throughout Poland, with concentrations in the regions of Mazovia, Greater Poland, and Silesia. Some examples of notable individuals with this surname include Stanisław RAJSKI (1790-1862), a Polish writer and journalist, and Józef RAJSKI (1838-1892), a painter and art professor.
In the 20th century, one of the most prominent bearers of the RAJSKI name was Mieczysław RAJSKI (1911-1998), a Polish journalist and politician who served as a member of the Sejm (parliament) during the communist era. Another notable figure was Józef RAJSKI (1907-1977), a Polish military officer and World War II resistance fighter.
Other historical examples of individuals with the RAJSKI surname include Stanisław RAJSKI (1873-1946), a Polish economist and statistician, and Wacław RAJSKI (1931-2011), a Polish engineer and academic who made contributions to the field of computer science.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rajski
Among Census respondents with the surname Rajski, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Rajski 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 Rajski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.5% · 295
- Two or more races4.1% · 13
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 3
- Black or African American0.3% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rajski
Rajski 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
#59,017
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 343
+46 bearers (+15.5%)
Per 100,000 0.12
Rank movement Up 3,944 places
2020
#66,829
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 319
-24 bearers (-7.0%)
Per 100,000 0.11
Rank movement Down 7,812 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #62,961 | 297 | 0.11 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #59,017 | 343 | 0.12 | +46 bearers (+15.5%) | Up 3,944 places |
| 2020 | #66,829 | 319 | 0.11 | -24 bearers (-7.0%) | Down 7,812 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 Rajski 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 | #59,017 | #66,829 | -13.2% |
| Count | 343 | 319 | -7.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.12 | 0.11 | -11.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rajski bearers went from 343 to 319 (-7.0% change). The surname moved down 7,812 positions in the national ranking, going from #59,017 to #66,829.
FAQ
Rajski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rajski?
Name Census estimates that about 366 living Americans carry the surname Rajski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 936,487 residents.
How common is Rajski?
Rajski ranks #66,829 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.11 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 319 people with the surname Rajski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (366), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.11 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.11 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 Rajski.
Has Rajski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rajski went from 343 recorded bearers to 319. That is a decrease of 24 (-7.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #59,017 to #66,829.
What does the Census say about the background of Rajski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rajski, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (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 Rajski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (295 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rajski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.5%), Two or More Races (4.1%), Hispanic (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 Rajski (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 Rajski mean?
A surname derived from the Polish word "raj" meaning paradise or heaven. 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 Rajski (0.11 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 Rajski?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.