2000
#148,244
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Welninski
A Polish surname derived from a place name in Poland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Welninski. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Welninski 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
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Welninski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Welninski, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Welninski
The surname WELNINSKI originated in Poland during the 15th century. It is derived from the Polish word "welniak," which referred to a person who worked with wool or produced woolen goods. The name is believed to have first appeared in the region around the city of Krakow, where the wool trade was thriving at that time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the WELNINSKI surname can be found in a document from 1492, which mentions a Marcin WELNINSKI, a wool merchant from the town of Kazimierz near Krakow. This document provides evidence that the name was already well-established in the area by the late 15th century.
In the 16th century, the WELNINSKI name began to spread beyond the Krakow region as members of the family migrated to other parts of Poland. Records from this period show variations in the spelling, including WELNIŃSKI, WEŁNIŃSKI, and WIELNINSKI.
Notable figures with the WELNINSKI surname include Jan WELNINSKI (1568-1642), a respected scholar and philosopher who taught at the University of Krakow. Another notable bearer of the name was Katarzyna WELNINSKA (1642-1712), a renowned painter and portraitist whose works can still be found in several Polish museums.
In the 18th century, the WELNINSKI family established itself in the city of Poznan, where they became prominent members of the local wool merchants' guild. One of the most successful members of the family during this period was Tomasz WELNINSKI (1724-1798), whose business dealings helped to establish Poznan as a major center for the wool trade.
Another significant figure with the WELNINSKI surname was Franciszek WELNINSKI (1785-1865), a Polish military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and later fought against the Russian Empire during the November Uprising of 1830-1831.
As the WELNINSKI family continued to prosper and expand throughout the 19th century, the name became associated with various place names in Poland, such as the village of Welnin, which was likely named after an early bearer of the surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Welninski
Among Census respondents with the surname Welninski, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Welninski 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 Welninski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.5% · 111
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Welninski
Welninski 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
#148,347
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
+9 bearers (+8.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 103 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
+9 bearers (+8.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 6,298 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #148,244 | 102 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #148,347 | 111 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+8.8%) | Down 103 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+8.1%) | Up 6,298 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 Welninski 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 | #148,347 | #142,049 | 4.2% |
| Count | 111 | 120 | 8.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Welninski bearers went from 111 to 120 (+8.1% change). The surname moved up 6,298 positions in the national ranking, going from #148,347 to #142,049.
FAQ
Welninski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Welninski?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Welninski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Welninski?
Welninski ranks #142,049 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 120 people with the surname Welninski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), 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 Welninski.
Has Welninski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Welninski went from 111 recorded bearers to 120. That is an increase of 9 (+8.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #148,347 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Welninski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Welninski, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%). 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 Welninski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (111 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Welninski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.5%), Hispanic (5.0%), American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%). 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 Welninski (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 Welninski mean?
A Polish surname derived from a place name in Poland. 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 Welninski (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 share the surname Welninski?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.