Find out how popular the last name Rutkowski is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Rutkowski.

Rutkowski, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Rutkowski surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rutkowski in America

Rutkowski is the 5142nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rutkowski surname appeared 6,805 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Rutkowski.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rutkowski to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Rutkowski

The surname RUTKOWSKI originated in Poland during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Polish word "rutki," meaning "small brooks" or "creeks," suggesting that the name may have been given to someone who lived near such a geographic feature.

RUTKOWSKI is a toponymic surname, meaning it was originally derived from a place name. It likely originated in one of the numerous villages or towns named Rutki or Rutkowo that are found throughout different regions of Poland.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in a document from the town of Rutki in Masovia, dating back to the early 15th century. This document mentions a landowner named Jan RUTKOWSKI.

Another notable early reference to the name is in the Metryka Koronna, which was a collection of official records kept by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. An entry from 1468 mentions a Stanislaw RUTKOWSKI, who was a nobleman from the Dobrzyń Land region.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name became more widespread across various parts of Poland. Some notable individuals with the surname included Marcin RUTKOWSKI (1553-1624), a Catholic priest and theologian from Mazovia, and Hieronim RUTKOWSKI (1619-1695), a Jesuit missionary who traveled to China and wrote about his experiences there.

In the 18th century, Tomasz RUTKOWSKI (1700-1768) was a prominent mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of comets and planetary orbits.

As the name spread beyond Poland's borders, it also appeared in other parts of Europe and the Americas. One notable example is Józef RUTKOWSKI (1873-1949), a Polish-American writer and journalist who founded several Polish-language newspapers in the United States.

Throughout its history, the surname RUTKOWSKI has been associated with various professions, including landowners, clergy, academics, and writers. While originally concentrated in Poland, it has since become more widely dispersed across different countries and continents.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rutkowski

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Rutkowski.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Rutkowski was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Rutkowski has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Rutkowski was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Rutkowski, please contact us.

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