2000
#7,403
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,150
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.54
Rare Last name
Sawicki
A Polish habitational surname derived from place names meaning "of Sawice," referring to several villages in Poland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,291 Americans carry the last name Sawicki. That puts it at #8,468 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.25 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 79,877 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sawicki 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 Sawicki with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.3K
1 in 79,877
Census rank
#8,468
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,742 bearers of the surname Sawicki in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.25 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8468th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sawicki, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sawicki
The surname Sawicki has its origins in Poland, with the earliest known records dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Polish word "sawic," which means "to repair" or "to mend." This suggests that the name may have originated from an occupation or trade related to carpentry or woodworking.
One of the earliest known references to the Sawicki name can be found in the Akta Grodzkie, a collection of court records from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In these records, a Jakub Sawicki is mentioned in connection with a land dispute in the year 1578.
In the 17th century, the Sawicki name appeared in various parish records and tax registers across different regions of Poland. Some notable individuals from this period include Jan Sawicki, a merchant from Krakow (born in 1623), and Katarzyna Sawicka, a landowner in the village of Radoszyce (born around 1650).
As the centuries progressed, the Sawicki name spread throughout Poland and neighboring countries. In the 19th century, a prominent figure was Wincenty Sawicki, a Polish writer and historian who published several works on the history of Polish literature (born in 1807, died in 1885).
Another notable person with the Sawicki surname was Józef Sawicki, a Polish military officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars and the November Uprising against Russian rule (born in 1790, died in 1845).
In the 20th century, one of the most famous individuals with the Sawicki surname was Tadeusz Sawicki, a Polish politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs during the interwar period (born in 1892, died in 1949).
While the Sawicki name has Polish roots, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to migration and immigration. Variations of the spelling, such as Savitski or Savitsky, can be found in countries like Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia, reflecting the historical connections and movements of people within the region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sawicki
Among Census respondents with the surname Sawicki, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Sawicki 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 Sawicki surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.1% · 3,482
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 155
- Two or more races2.0% · 74
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 5
- Black or African American0.1% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sawicki
Sawicki 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
#8,330
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,977
-173 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 1.35
Rank movement Down 927 places
2020
#8,468
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,742
-235 bearers (-5.9%)
Per 100,000 1.25
Rank movement Down 138 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,403 | 4,150 | 1.54 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,330 | 3,977 | 1.35 | -173 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 927 places |
| 2020 | #8,468 | 3,742 | 1.25 | -235 bearers (-5.9%) | Down 138 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 Sawicki 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 | #8,330 | #8,468 | -1.7% |
| Count | 3,977 | 3,742 | -5.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.35 | 1.25 | -7.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sawicki bearers went from 3,977 to 3,742 (-5.9% change). The surname moved down 138 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,330 to #8,468.
FAQ
Sawicki surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sawicki?
Name Census estimates that about 4,291 living Americans carry the surname Sawicki. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 79,877 residents.
How common is Sawicki?
Sawicki ranks #8,468 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.25 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,742 people with the surname Sawicki. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,291), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.25 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.25 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Sawicki.
Has Sawicki become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sawicki went from 3,977 recorded bearers to 3,742. That is a decrease of 235 (-5.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,330 to #8,468.
What does the Census say about the background of Sawicki?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sawicki, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Sawicki in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (3,482 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sawicki appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.1%), Hispanic (4.1%), Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Sawicki (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 Sawicki mean?
A Polish habitational surname derived from place names meaning "of Sawice," referring to several villages in Poland. 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 Sawicki (1.25 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 common is the surname Sawicki?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Sawicki on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.