2000
#126,400
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Romanowsky
A surname of Polish origin indicating a person from the town of Romanów.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Romanowsky. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Romanowsky 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Romanowsky in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Romanowsky, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.3%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Romanowsky
The surname Romanowsky is of Russian origin, derived from the name of the Romanov dynasty that ruled the Russian Empire from 1613 to 1917. The name is a patronymic, meaning "son of Romanov," and likely originated among those associated with the royal family or their estate.
The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the late 16th century, when the Romanov family rose to prominence. It is believed to have been originally spelled as "Romanov" or "Romanoff," with the "wsky" ending being a later addition to denote ancestry or association.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname was Mikhail Fyodorovich Romanov, who became the first Romanov tsar in 1613 after the Time of Troubles. His son, Tsar Alexis I Romanov (1629-1676), played a significant role in expanding Russian territory and consolidating the dynasty's power.
During the Romanov reign, several notable figures bore the surname Romanowsky, including Prince Grigory Alexandrovich Romanov (1923-2008), a direct descendant of Tsar Nicholas I, and Princess Nadezhda Petrovna Romanowsky (1898-1988), who was a member of the imperial family.
Another prominent figure was Count Fyodor Romanowsky (1810-1876), a Russian statesman and diplomat who served as the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia and later as the Minister of the Imperial Court under Tsar Alexander II.
In addition to its association with the Romanov dynasty, the surname Romanowsky may have also been adopted by individuals living in or near the town of Romanov, located in the modern-day Tula Oblast region of Russia. This town was founded in the 16th century and may have contributed to the spread of the surname among local residents.
While the Romanov dynasty came to an end with the Russian Revolution in 1917, the surname Romanowsky has endured and can still be found among individuals of Russian descent around the world, serving as a reminder of the once-powerful imperial family and their historical legacy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Romanowsky
Among Census respondents with the surname Romanowsky, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.3%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Romanowsky 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 Romanowsky surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.2% · 89
- Hispanic or Latino15.3% · 17
- Two or more races2.7% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Romanowsky
Romanowsky 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
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-12 bearers (-9.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 19,801 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-2 bearers (-1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,464 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #126,400 | 125 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | -12 bearers (-9.6%) | Down 19,801 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.8%) | Down 2,464 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 Romanowsky 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 | #146,201 | #148,665 | -1.7% |
| Count | 113 | 111 | -1.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Romanowsky bearers went from 113 to 111 (-1.8% change). The surname moved down 2,464 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #148,665.
FAQ
Romanowsky surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Romanowsky?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Romanowsky. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Romanowsky?
Romanowsky ranks #148,665 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 111 people with the surname Romanowsky. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), 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 Romanowsky.
Has Romanowsky become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Romanowsky went from 113 recorded bearers to 111. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #146,201 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Romanowsky?
Among Census respondents with the surname Romanowsky, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.3%) and Two or More Races (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 Romanowsky in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.2% (89 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Romanowsky appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.2%), Hispanic (15.3%), Two or More Races (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 Romanowsky (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 Romanowsky mean?
A surname of Polish origin indicating a person from the town of Romanów. 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 Romanowsky (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 surname Romanowsky?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.