2000
#4,776
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,773
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.51
Rare Last name
Rutkowski
A Polish habitational surname derived from place names meaning "son of Rutka" or "descendant of Rutka."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,154 Americans carry the last name Rutkowski. That puts it at #5,396 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.09 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 47,911 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rutkowski 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Rutkowski with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.2K
1 in 47,911
Census rank
#5,396
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,239 bearers of the surname Rutkowski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.09 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5396th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rutkowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rutkowski
Among Census respondents with the surname Rutkowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Rutkowski 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 Rutkowski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.9% · 5,856
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 156
- Two or more races2.2% · 135
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 59
- Black or African American0.4% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rutkowski
Rutkowski 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
#5,142
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,805
+32 bearers (+0.5%)
Per 100,000 2.31
Rank movement Down 366 places
2020
#5,396
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,239
-566 bearers (-8.3%)
Per 100,000 2.09
Rank movement Down 254 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,776 | 6,773 | 2.51 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,142 | 6,805 | 2.31 | +32 bearers (+0.5%) | Down 366 places |
| 2020 | #5,396 | 6,239 | 2.09 | -566 bearers (-8.3%) | Down 254 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 Rutkowski 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 | #5,142 | #5,396 | -4.9% |
| Count | 6,805 | 6,239 | -8.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.31 | 2.09 | -9.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rutkowski bearers went from 6,805 to 6,239 (-8.3% change). The surname moved down 254 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,142 to #5,396.
FAQ
Rutkowski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rutkowski?
Name Census estimates that about 7,154 living Americans carry the surname Rutkowski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 47,911 residents.
How common is Rutkowski?
Rutkowski ranks #5,396 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.09 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,239 people with the surname Rutkowski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,154), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.09 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.09 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Rutkowski.
Has Rutkowski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rutkowski went from 6,805 recorded bearers to 6,239. That is a decrease of 566 (-8.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,142 to #5,396.
What does the Census say about the background of Rutkowski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rutkowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Rutkowski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.9% (5,856 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rutkowski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.9%), Hispanic (2.5%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Rutkowski (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 Rutkowski mean?
A Polish habitational surname derived from place names meaning "son of Rutka" or "descendant of Rutka." 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 Rutkowski (2.09 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 Rutkowski?
See how many people have the last name Rutkowski on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.