2000
#136,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Rataczak
Polish toponymic surname derived from a place name related to the word "rata" meaning "installment."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Rataczak. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rataczak 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Rataczak in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rataczak, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rataczak
The surname Rataczak is of Polish origin, derived from the medieval Polish word "rataj" meaning "plowman" or "farmer". This occupational surname first emerged in the 12th century in the territories of present-day Poland.
The name is believed to have originated in the Wielkopolska region of west-central Poland, particularly in the areas around the cities of Poznan and Kalisz. Early spellings of the name included Ratajczak, Ratajczyk, and Ratajski.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rataczak can be found in the Liber Beneficiorum, a 14th-century document compiled by the Archdiocese of Gniezno, which lists a "Jacobus Rataczak" as a landowner in the village of Łękno in 1388.
In the 16th century, the Rataczak surname appeared in various municipal records and tax registers in the towns of Kalisz, Konin, and Gniezno, indicating the prevalence of the name among the local farming communities.
One notable bearer of the Rataczak name was Jan Rataczak (1617-1684), a Polish Catholic priest and theologian who served as a canon of the Collegiate Church of St. Mary in Kalisz and authored several religious treatises.
Another individual of historical significance was Andrzej Rataczak (1742-1823), a Polish landowner and philanthropist from the Wielkopolska region, who funded the construction of several churches and schools in his hometown of Kościan.
In the 19th century, the Rataczak surname gained prominence with the birth of Józef Rataczak (1824-1898), a Polish painter and art teacher who is remembered for his landscapes and genre scenes depicting rural life in Wielkopolska.
Franciszek Rataczak (1865-1942) was a Polish Army officer and military engineer who played a significant role in the defense of Warsaw during the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1921.
Lastly, Maria Rataczak (1910-1944) was a Polish resistance fighter who joined the Armia Krajowa (Home Army) during World War II and was executed by the German occupation forces for her involvement in the Polish underground movement.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rataczak
Among Census respondents with the surname Rataczak, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Rataczak 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 Rataczak surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.2% · 97
- Two or more races4.5% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 3
- Black or African American1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rataczak
Rataczak 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
#147,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
-1 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,470 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-2 bearers (-1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,193 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 | #147,253 | 112 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 10,470 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.8%) | Down 2,193 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 Rataczak 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 | #147,253 | #149,446 | -1.5% |
| Count | 112 | 110 | -1.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rataczak bearers went from 112 to 110 (-1.8% change). The surname moved down 2,193 positions in the national ranking, going from #147,253 to #149,446.
FAQ
Rataczak surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rataczak?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Rataczak. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Rataczak?
Rataczak ranks #149,446 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 110 people with the surname Rataczak. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), 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 Rataczak.
Has Rataczak become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rataczak went from 112 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #147,253 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Rataczak?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rataczak, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Rataczak in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.2% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rataczak appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.2%), Two or More Races (4.5%), Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Rataczak (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 Rataczak mean?
Polish toponymic surname derived from a place name related to the word "rata" meaning "installment." 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 Rataczak (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 are called Rataczak?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Rataczak, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.