2000
#50,366
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 390
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.14
Very Rare Last name
Rolnick
A Russified surname derived from the Polish word "rolnik" meaning "farmer."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 412 Americans carry the last name Rolnick. That puts it at #60,581 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.12 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 831,928 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rolnick 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
412
1 in 831,928
Census rank
#60,581
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
359
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 359 bearers of the surname Rolnick in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.12 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 60581st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rolnick, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rolnick
The surname ROLNICK is believed to have originated in the Slavic regions of Eastern Europe, particularly in areas that are now part of Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus. The name likely emerged during the medieval period, sometime between the 11th and 15th centuries.
ROLNICK is thought to be derived from the Slavic word "rol," which means "farmer" or "peasant." The suffix "-nik" was commonly added to occupational or descriptive terms, indicating a person associated with that particular trade or characteristic. Thus, ROLNICK was likely an occupational surname given to individuals who worked as farmers or came from a family of agricultural workers.
There are no known historical references to the surname ROLNICK in major manuscripts or records like the Domesday Book, as these were primarily focused on Western European names. However, the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in various church records and census documents from the 16th and 17th centuries in the regions of Galicia, Volhynia, and Podolia, which were part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at the time.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname ROLNICK was Jan Rolnick, a farmer from the village of Stryzhavka in Galicia, who was mentioned in a parish register in 1587. Another notable bearer of the name was Mikołaj Rolnick, a landowner and local official in the town of Żółkiew, Ruthenia (now in Ukraine), who lived in the early 17th century.
Throughout history, there have been several individuals with the surname ROLNICK who achieved notable accomplishments or recognition. For example, Andrzej Rolnick (1757-1831) was a Polish painter and engraver known for his religious works and portraits of nobility. Józef Rolnick (1818-1898) was a Polish-Ukrainian composer and conductor who composed several operas and worked in various theaters across Europe.
Stanisław Rolnick (1892-1945) was a Polish lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Sejm (parliament) in the interwar period and was active in the Polish Underground State during World War II. Miriam Rolnick (1925-2010) was an American actress and writer who appeared in various Broadway productions and television shows, and authored several books on acting and theater.
Finally, Yuri Rolnick (born 1936) is a Russian-American mathematician and educator who has made significant contributions to the fields of functional analysis and operator theory. He has held academic positions at various universities in the United States and Russia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rolnick
Among Census respondents with the surname Rolnick, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Rolnick 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 Rolnick surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.6% · 336
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 2
- Two or more races0.6% · 2
- Black or African American0.3% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rolnick
Rolnick 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
#53,072
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 390
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.13
Rank movement Down 2,706 places
2020
#60,581
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 359
-31 bearers (-7.9%)
Per 100,000 0.12
Rank movement Down 7,509 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #50,366 | 390 | 0.14 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #53,072 | 390 | 0.13 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 2,706 places |
| 2020 | #60,581 | 359 | 0.12 | -31 bearers (-7.9%) | Down 7,509 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 Rolnick 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 | #53,072 | #60,581 | -14.1% |
| Count | 390 | 359 | -7.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.13 | 0.12 | -7.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rolnick bearers went from 390 to 359 (-7.9% change). The surname moved down 7,509 positions in the national ranking, going from #53,072 to #60,581.
FAQ
Rolnick surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rolnick?
Name Census estimates that about 412 living Americans carry the surname Rolnick. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 831,928 residents.
How common is Rolnick?
Rolnick ranks #60,581 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.12 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 359 people with the surname Rolnick. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (412), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.12 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.12 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 Rolnick.
Has Rolnick become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rolnick went from 390 recorded bearers to 359. That is a decrease of 31 (-7.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #53,072 to #60,581.
What does the Census say about the background of Rolnick?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rolnick, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.6%). 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 Rolnick in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.6% (336 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rolnick appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.6%), Hispanic (5.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.6%). 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 Rolnick (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 Rolnick mean?
A Russified surname derived from the Polish word "rolnik" meaning "farmer." 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 Rolnick (0.12 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 Rolnick?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.