2000
#131,366
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Vilinsky
An East Slavic surname derived from the place name Vielino or Viľny.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Vilinsky. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vilinsky 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Vilinsky in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vilinsky, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.1%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vilinsky
The surname Vilinsky has its origins in Eastern Europe, specifically in the Slavic countries of Poland and Russia. It is believed to have emerged in the late Middle Ages, around the 14th or 15th century.
One theory suggests that the name Vilinsky is derived from the Slavic word "vilin," which means "fairy" or "nymph." It is possible that the name was initially given to someone who lived near a forest or a body of water associated with fairy tales or folklore.
Another possibility is that Vilinsky is a locational surname, originating from a specific place or region. In this case, the name could be related to the town of Vilna (now known as Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania) or other similar-sounding place names in the region.
Early records of the Vilinsky surname can be found in historical documents from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which existed from the late 14th century until the late 18th century. One of the earliest known examples is Jan Vilinsky, a Polish nobleman mentioned in a 16th-century chronicle.
In the 17th century, a Russian noble family by the name of Vilinsky is recorded as having owned land and estates in the region of Smolensk, which was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at the time.
A notable figure bearing the Vilinsky surname was Mikhail Vilinsky (1767-1856), a Russian military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and rose to the rank of general. He was awarded several prestigious honors for his service.
Another individual of note was Andrei Vilinsky (1828-1895), a Russian writer and journalist who was part of the literary movement known as the "Narodniki" (Populists). He advocated for social reforms and the rights of the peasantry.
In the 19th century, a Polish-born artist named Stanisław Vilinsky (1837-1911) gained recognition for his landscape paintings and portraits. He studied in Warsaw and later worked in St. Petersburg, Russia.
The Vilinsky surname also appears in historical records from other Slavic countries, such as Belarus and Ukraine, indicating the widespread nature of the name across the region.
Throughout its history, the surname Vilinsky has been subject to various spellings and variations, including Vilinski, Vilinsky, Vilensky, and Vilenski, reflecting the different languages and cultural influences of the areas where it was used.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vilinsky
Among Census respondents with the surname Vilinsky, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.1%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Vilinsky 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 Vilinsky surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.4% · 104
- Two or more races6.1% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vilinsky
Vilinsky 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
#133,048
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 127
+8 bearers (+6.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,682 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-12 bearers (-9.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,709 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #131,366 | 119 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #133,048 | 127 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+6.7%) | Down 1,682 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | -12 bearers (-9.4%) | Down 12,709 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 Vilinsky 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 | #133,048 | #145,757 | -9.6% |
| Count | 127 | 115 | -9.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vilinsky bearers went from 127 to 115 (-9.4% change). The surname moved down 12,709 positions in the national ranking, going from #133,048 to #145,757.
FAQ
Vilinsky surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vilinsky?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Vilinsky. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Vilinsky?
Vilinsky ranks #145,757 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 115 people with the surname Vilinsky. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), 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 Vilinsky.
Has Vilinsky become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vilinsky went from 127 recorded bearers to 115. That is a decrease of 12 (-9.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #133,048 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Vilinsky?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vilinsky, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.1%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Vilinsky in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.4% (104 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vilinsky appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.4%), Two or More Races (6.1%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Vilinsky (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 Vilinsky mean?
An East Slavic surname derived from the place name Vielino or Viľny. 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 Vilinsky (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 have the last name Vilinsky?
Want to know how many people have the last name Vilinsky? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.