2000
#117,538
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 137
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Rykiel
A surname of Polish origin, derived from the word "rycerz" meaning "knight."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 164 Americans carry the last name Rykiel. That puts it at #125,732 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,089,965 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rykiel 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
164
1 in 2,089,965
Census rank
#125,732
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
143
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 143 bearers of the surname Rykiel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 125732nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rykiel, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.4%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rykiel
The surname RYKIEL is of Polish origin, emerging in the 16th century from the Polish word "rykać" which means "to roar" or "to bellow". It is believed that the name was originally given as a nickname to someone with a loud or booming voice.
The earliest known record of the RYKIEL surname dates back to 1564 in the town of Krakow, Poland. It is found in a local tax register, listing a certain Jan RYKIEL as a resident of the city's Stare Miasto (Old Town) district.
In the 17th century, variations of the spelling began to appear, such as RYKEL, RYKIL, and RYKIEŁ. These were likely due to regional dialects and inconsistencies in record-keeping at the time.
One notable bearer of the RYKIEL name was Stanisław RYKIEL (1628-1692), a Polish nobleman and military officer who fought in the Polish-Swedish War and the Russo-Polish War. He was awarded lands in the region of Lublin for his service.
The name also spread to other parts of Eastern Europe, including Ukraine and Belarus. In 1784, a man named Ivan RYKIEL was recorded as a landowner in the village of Novohrad-Volynskyi, in what is now northwestern Ukraine.
A famous bearer of the RYKIEL surname in more recent history was Sonia RYKIEL (1930-2016), a French fashion designer and writer. She was born Sonia Frenk in Paris, but took her husband's surname upon marriage.
Other notable individuals with the RYKIEL surname include:
Jerzy RYKIEL (1901-1965), a Polish soldier and diplomat who served as Poland's ambassador to the United Kingdom during World War II.
Natan RYKIEL (1879-1942), a Polish-Jewish writer and playwright who perished in the Holocaust.
Wanda RYKIEL (1914-1993), a Polish actress and singer who appeared in several films during the interwar period.
Kazimierz RYKIEL (1912-1994), a Polish architect and urban planner who designed numerous buildings in Warsaw after World War II.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rykiel
Among Census respondents with the surname Rykiel, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.4%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Rykiel 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 Rykiel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.9% · 140
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rykiel
Rykiel 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
#120,187
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 144
+7 bearers (+5.1%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 2,649 places
2020
#125,732
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 143
-1 bearers (-0.7%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 5,545 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #117,538 | 137 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #120,187 | 144 | 0.05 | +7 bearers (+5.1%) | Down 2,649 places |
| 2020 | #125,732 | 143 | 0.05 | -1 bearers (-0.7%) | Down 5,545 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 Rykiel 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 | #120,187 | #125,732 | -4.6% |
| Count | 144 | 143 | -0.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.05 | -4.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rykiel bearers went from 144 to 143 (-0.7% change). The surname moved down 5,545 positions in the national ranking, going from #120,187 to #125,732.
FAQ
Rykiel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rykiel?
Name Census estimates that about 164 living Americans carry the surname Rykiel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,089,965 residents.
How common is Rykiel?
Rykiel ranks #125,732 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.05 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 143 people with the surname Rykiel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (164), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.05 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 Rykiel.
Has Rykiel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rykiel went from 144 recorded bearers to 143. That is a decrease of 1 (-0.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #120,187 to #125,732.
What does the Census say about the background of Rykiel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rykiel, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.4%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.7%). 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 Rykiel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.9% (140 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rykiel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.9%), Hispanic (1.4%), American Indian/Alaska Native (0.7%). 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 Rykiel (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 Rykiel mean?
A surname of Polish origin, derived from the word "rycerz" meaning "knight." 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 Rykiel (0.05 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 Americans have the surname Rykiel?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.