2000
#12,897
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,187
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.81
Rare Last name
Sroka
A Polish surname derived from the word "sroka," meaning "magpie," likely referring to a talkative or clever person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,373 Americans carry the last name Sroka. That puts it at #13,956 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.69 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 144,439 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sroka 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 Sroka with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.4K
1 in 144,439
Census rank
#13,956
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,069 bearers of the surname Sroka in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.69 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13956th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sroka, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (1.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sroka
The surname Sroka originates from Poland, where it first emerged in the medieval period between the 12th and 14th centuries. Derived from the Polish word "sroka," meaning "magpie," the name likely originated as a nickname for someone with a particular physical or behavioral trait reminiscent of the bird.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Sroka surname can be found in the Liber Beneficiorum, a historical manuscript from the 14th century that documented the names of Polish nobility and landowners. In this record, a certain Piotr Sroka was mentioned as holding land in the region of Lesser Poland.
During the 15th century, the Sroka name appeared in various town and village records across Poland, indicating its widespread usage. For instance, in 1457, a document from the town of Krakow referenced a merchant named Jan Sroka, who traded in textiles and spices.
By the 16th century, the Sroka surname had spread to other parts of Eastern Europe, particularly in areas with significant Polish immigration. One notable figure from this period was Mikołaj Sroka (1510-1582), a Polish-Lithuanian scholar and poet who served as a secretary to King Sigismund II Augustus.
In the 17th century, the Sroka name gained prominence in the Polish military. Andrzej Sroka (1628-1701) was a distinguished cavalry officer who fought in the Polish-Ottoman wars and later became a voivode (provincial governor) in the Kijów region.
Another historically significant individual with the Sroka surname was Franciszek Sroka (1785-1851), a Polish Catholic priest and educator who founded several schools in the Silesian region during the early 19th century.
As the centuries progressed, the Sroka name continued to spread across Poland and neighboring countries, with various branches of the family adopting slight variations in spelling, such as Srokowski or Sroczyński, often reflecting regional dialects or assimilation into new territories.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sroka
Among Census respondents with the surname Sroka, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (1.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Sroka 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 Sroka surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.9% · 1,923
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 90
- Two or more races1.4% · 30
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 12
- Black or African American0.4% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sroka
Sroka 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
#13,824
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,187
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Down 927 places
2020
#13,956
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,069
-118 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.69
Rank movement Down 132 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,897 | 2,187 | 0.81 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,824 | 2,187 | 0.74 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 927 places |
| 2020 | #13,956 | 2,069 | 0.69 | -118 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 132 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 Sroka 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 | #13,824 | #13,956 | -1.0% |
| Count | 2,187 | 2,069 | -5.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.74 | 0.69 | -6.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sroka bearers went from 2,187 to 2,069 (-5.4% change). The surname moved down 132 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,824 to #13,956.
FAQ
Sroka surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sroka?
Name Census estimates that about 2,373 living Americans carry the surname Sroka. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 144,439 residents.
How common is Sroka?
Sroka ranks #13,956 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.69 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 2,069 people with the surname Sroka. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,373), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.69 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.69 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 Sroka.
Has Sroka become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sroka went from 2,187 recorded bearers to 2,069. That is a decrease of 118 (-5.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,824 to #13,956.
What does the Census say about the background of Sroka?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sroka, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (1.4%). 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 Sroka in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.9% (1,923 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sroka appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.9%), Hispanic (4.3%), Two or More Races (1.4%). 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 Sroka (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 Sroka mean?
A Polish surname derived from the word "sroka," meaning "magpie," likely referring to a talkative or clever person. 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 Sroka (0.69 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 Sroka?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.