2000
#130,443
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Stepnoski
A Slavic surname potentially derived from a diminutive form of the word "steppe".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Stepnoski. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Stepnoski 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Stepnoski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Stepnoski, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Stepnoski
The surname Stepnoski is of Polish origin, derived from the word "step" meaning "steppe" or "plain," and likely originated in the 16th or 17th century. It is believed to have been a descriptive name for someone who lived or worked on the steppes, or vast treeless plains of Eastern Europe.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the parish records of the village of Stepnowka, located in the Lublin region of eastern Poland, dating back to the late 17th century. The name was also prevalent in other areas of Poland, such as the Podlaskie and Mazovian regions, where it was sometimes spelled as "Stępnowski" or "Stępniowski."
In the 19th century, the Stepnoski surname began to appear in historical records in other parts of Eastern Europe, particularly in areas with significant Polish populations, such as parts of modern-day Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania. This was likely due to migration and the shifting borders of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth during that period.
One notable person with the Stepnoski surname was Wacław Stepnoski (1861-1937), a Polish politician and member of the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament, in the early 20th century. Another was Stanisław Stepnoski (1892-1968), a Polish-American architect who designed several notable buildings in Chicago, including the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
In the 20th century, as many Polish families immigrated to the United States and other countries, the Stepnoski name spread further. One example is Jeff Stepnoski (born 1966), a former American football offensive lineman who played for several NFL teams, including the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Oilers.
Other notable individuals with the Stepnoski surname include Krzysztof Stepnoski (born 1964), a Polish musician and composer, and Aleksander Stepnoski (1890-1958), a Polish-American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Stepnoski Foundation in Chicago.
While the Stepnoski surname may not be as widely recognized as some others, its roots can be traced back to the plains of Eastern Europe and the early history of Poland, reflecting the rich cultural heritage of the region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Stepnoski
Among Census respondents with the surname Stepnoski, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Stepnoski 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 Stepnoski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.1% · 109
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Stepnoski
Stepnoski 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
#140,157
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
-1 bearers (-0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 9,714 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-9 bearers (-7.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 9,289 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #130,443 | 120 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #140,157 | 119 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.8%) | Down 9,714 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -9 bearers (-7.6%) | Down 9,289 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 Stepnoski 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 | #140,157 | #149,446 | -6.6% |
| Count | 119 | 110 | -7.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Stepnoski bearers went from 119 to 110 (-7.6% change). The surname moved down 9,289 positions in the national ranking, going from #140,157 to #149,446.
FAQ
Stepnoski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Stepnoski?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Stepnoski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Stepnoski?
Stepnoski ranks #149,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 110 people with the surname Stepnoski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Stepnoski.
Has Stepnoski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Stepnoski went from 119 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 9 (-7.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #140,157 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Stepnoski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Stepnoski, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Stepnoski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.1% (109 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Stepnoski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.1%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Stepnoski (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 Stepnoski mean?
A Slavic surname potentially derived from a diminutive form of the word "steppe". 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 Stepnoski (0.04 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 Stepnoski?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.