2000
#135,837
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Tomkiel
A Polish surname derived from a diminutive form of the name Thomas.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Tomkiel. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tomkiel 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Tomkiel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tomkiel, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and Two or More Races (6.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tomkiel
The surname Tomkiel is believed to have originated in Poland, with roots dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Polish personal name Tomek, a diminutive form of Tomasz, which is the Polish equivalent of the English name Thomas.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Tomkiel can be found in historical records from the regions of Poznan and Kalisz in central Poland. The name likely originated as a patronymic, meaning it was initially used to denote a person's lineage or relationship to an ancestor named Tomek.
In the late 16th century, a Tomkiel family was documented as residing in the village of Grabowiec, located in the historic Lublin region of eastern Poland. This area was known for its significant Polish gentry population, suggesting that the Tomkiels may have held a position of relative prominence within their local community.
One of the earliest recorded individuals bearing the Tomkiel surname was Jan Tomkiel, a Polish nobleman who lived in the town of Radom in the early 17th century. Historical records indicate that he served as a military officer during the Polish-Swedish wars of the mid-1600s.
In the late 18th century, a Wojciech Tomkiel was a prominent figure in the Polish independence movement against Prussian and Russian occupation. He participated in the Kosciuszko Uprising of 1794 and was later imprisoned for his revolutionary activities.
During the 19th century, the Tomkiel surname spread beyond Poland's borders as families emigrated to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas. Notable individuals from this era include Michal Tomkiel, a Polish-American artist and painter who was born in Krakow in 1835 and later settled in New York City.
Another significant figure was Andrzej Tomkiel, a Polish philosopher and academic who lived from 1867 to 1952. He taught at various universities in Poland and published several influential works on ethics and moral philosophy.
While the Tomkiel surname has its roots in Poland, it has since spread to various corners of the world, carried by families who have left their ancestral homeland over the centuries. However, its origins can be traced back to the personal name Tomek and the rich cultural heritage of central and eastern Poland.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tomkiel
Among Census respondents with the surname Tomkiel, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and Two or More Races (6.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Tomkiel 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 Tomkiel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.2% · 93
- Hispanic or Latino7.8% · 9
- Two or more races6.0% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.2% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tomkiel
Tomkiel 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
+5 bearers (+4.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,320 places
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
-3 bearers (-2.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,871 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #135,837 | 114 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #140,157 | 119 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.4%) | Down 4,320 places |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.5%) | Down 4,871 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 Tomkiel 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 | #145,028 | -3.5% |
| Count | 119 | 116 | -2.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tomkiel bearers went from 119 to 116 (-2.5% change). The surname moved down 4,871 positions in the national ranking, going from #140,157 to #145,028.
FAQ
Tomkiel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tomkiel?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Tomkiel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Tomkiel?
Tomkiel ranks #145,028 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 116 people with the surname Tomkiel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), 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 Tomkiel.
Has Tomkiel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tomkiel went from 119 recorded bearers to 116. That is a decrease of 3 (-2.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #140,157 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Tomkiel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tomkiel, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and Two or More Races (6.0%). 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 Tomkiel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.2% (93 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tomkiel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.2%), Hispanic (7.8%), Two or More Races (6.0%). 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 Tomkiel (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 Tomkiel mean?
A Polish surname derived from a diminutive form of the name Thomas. 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 Tomkiel (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 people are called Tomkiel?
Find out how common the surname Tomkiel is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.