2000
#3,697
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,813
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.27
Rare Last name
Szymanski
A Polish occupational surname referring to a son of a Simon or Szymon, derived from the given name Szymon.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,433 Americans carry the last name Szymanski. That puts it at #4,169 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 36,336 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Szymanski 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 Szymanski with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.4K
1 in 36,336
Census rank
#4,169
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,226 bearers of the surname Szymanski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4169th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Szymanski, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Szymanski
The surname Szymanski is of Polish origin, derived from the personal name Szymon, which is the Polish form of Simon. It dates back to the medieval period in Poland.
The name Szymanski is a patronymic surname, meaning it was initially formed by adding the possessive suffix "-ski" to the personal name Szymon. This was a common practice in Poland and other Slavic countries to indicate a person's lineage or family relationship.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Szymanski can be found in the Tarnow Land and Cadastral Registers from the 15th century, where it appears as "Szymonsky." This variation in spelling was common in historical records due to inconsistent spelling conventions and regional dialects.
In the 16th century, the name Szymanski appeared in the Polish Nobility Records, suggesting that some families bearing this surname held noble status during that time. One notable example is Marcin Szymanski, a Polish nobleman and landowner who lived in the mid-16th century.
The Szymanski surname can also be traced back to various place names in Poland, such as the village of Szymanowice in the Masovian Voivodeship. This suggests that some families may have adopted the surname based on their place of origin or residence.
Notable individuals with the surname Szymanski throughout history include:
1. Józef Szymanski (1805-1868), a Polish painter and professor at the University of Warsaw.
2. Wacław Szymanski (1859-1919), a Polish composer and conductor known for his operas and orchestral works.
3. Teodor Szymanski (1879-1966), a Polish engineer and inventor who developed the first successful turbojet engine.
4. Jadwiga Szymanska (1904-1986), a Polish actress and singer who performed in numerous films and theater productions.
5. Janusz Szymanski (born 1952), a Polish-American computer scientist and professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, known for his contributions to distributed computing and parallel processing.
These examples demonstrate the diverse fields and achievements of individuals bearing the Szymanski surname throughout history, reflecting the rich cultural heritage and contributions of Polish families with this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Szymanski
Among Census respondents with the surname Szymanski, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Szymanski 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 Szymanski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.9% · 7,723
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 224
- Two or more races2.2% · 178
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 46
- Black or African American0.5% · 41
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Szymanski
Szymanski 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
#4,059
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,748
-65 bearers (-0.7%)
Per 100,000 2.97
Rank movement Down 362 places
2020
#4,169
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,226
-522 bearers (-6.0%)
Per 100,000 2.75
Rank movement Down 110 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,697 | 8,813 | 3.27 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,059 | 8,748 | 2.97 | -65 bearers (-0.7%) | Down 362 places |
| 2020 | #4,169 | 8,226 | 2.75 | -522 bearers (-6.0%) | Down 110 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 Szymanski 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 | #4,059 | #4,169 | -2.7% |
| Count | 8,748 | 8,226 | -6.0% |
| Per 100K | 2.97 | 2.75 | -7.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Szymanski bearers went from 8,748 to 8,226 (-6.0% change). The surname moved down 110 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,059 to #4,169.
FAQ
Szymanski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Szymanski?
Name Census estimates that about 9,433 living Americans carry the surname Szymanski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 36,336 residents.
How common is Szymanski?
Szymanski ranks #4,169 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.75 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,226 people with the surname Szymanski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,433), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.75 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Szymanski.
Has Szymanski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Szymanski went from 8,748 recorded bearers to 8,226. That is a decrease of 522 (-6.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,059 to #4,169.
What does the Census say about the background of Szymanski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Szymanski, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) 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 Szymanski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.9% (7,723 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Szymanski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.9%), Hispanic (2.7%), 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 Szymanski (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 Szymanski mean?
A Polish occupational surname referring to a son of a Simon or Szymon, derived from the given name Szymon. 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 Szymanski (2.75 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 Szymanski?
Want to know how common the surname Szymanski is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.