2000
#141,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Wasieleski
A Polish surname derived from a place name related to the word "village".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Wasieleski. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wasieleski 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Wasieleski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wasieleski, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wasieleski
The surname WASIELESKI is of Polish origin, originating in the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the medieval Polish word "wasiel," meaning "cheerful" or "jolly." This suggests the name may have initially been a descriptive nickname bestowed upon a particularly jovial or merry individual.
The earliest known record of the name WASIELESKI appears in a Polish parish register from the town of Krakow, dated 1578. This entry lists a Jakub Wasieleski as a local landowner and farmer. Over the subsequent centuries, variations in spelling emerged, including Wasieleski, Wasielsky, and Wasielski.
In the 17th century, the name WASIELESKI is found in several historical documents from the Polish region of Galicia, which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Notable individuals bearing this surname during this period include Jan Wasieleski (1624-1697), a respected scholar and teacher at the University of Krakow.
As the Polish diaspora spread across Europe and beyond, the name WASIELESKI began to appear in records from other countries. In the late 19th century, a Pawel Wasieleski (1856-1923) emigrated from Poland to the United States, settling in Chicago and establishing a successful bakery business.
Another prominent figure with this surname was Stanislaw Wasieleski (1885-1953), a Polish military officer who served in World War I and later became a respected historian and author, publishing several books on Polish military history.
In the 20th century, the name WASIELESKI gained recognition through the work of Wladyslaw Wasieleski (1910-1985), a renowned Polish architect whose designs included several notable buildings in Warsaw, such as the Warsaw Polytechnic Institute and the National Library of Poland.
While the surname WASIELESKI is relatively uncommon outside of Poland and Polish diaspora communities, it has a rich historical legacy spanning several centuries and continues to be associated with notable individuals in various fields, from academia to architecture and beyond.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wasieleski
Among Census respondents with the surname Wasieleski, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Wasieleski 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 Wasieleski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.1% · 99
- Two or more races2.9% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wasieleski
Wasieleski 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
#144,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
+7 bearers (+6.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,353 places
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-12 bearers (-10.4%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 10,041 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #141,788 | 108 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #144,141 | 115 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+6.5%) | Down 2,353 places |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | -12 bearers (-10.4%) | Down 10,041 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 Wasieleski 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 | #144,141 | #154,182 | -7.0% |
| Count | 115 | 103 | -10.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wasieleski bearers went from 115 to 103 (-10.4% change). The surname moved down 10,041 positions in the national ranking, going from #144,141 to #154,182.
FAQ
Wasieleski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wasieleski?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Wasieleski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Wasieleski?
Wasieleski ranks #154,182 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 103 people with the surname Wasieleski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Wasieleski.
Has Wasieleski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wasieleski went from 115 recorded bearers to 103. That is a decrease of 12 (-10.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #144,141 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Wasieleski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wasieleski, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.0%). 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 Wasieleski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.1% (99 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wasieleski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.1%), Two or More Races (2.9%), American Indian/Alaska Native (1.0%). 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 Wasieleski (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 Wasieleski mean?
A Polish surname derived from a place name related to the word "village". 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 Wasieleski (0.03 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 Wasieleski?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Wasieleski at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.