2000
#5,557
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,739
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.13
Rare Last name
Witkowski
Derived from a place name meaning "town of Witek" in Polish, referring to a diminutive of the name Wit.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,929 Americans carry the last name Witkowski. That puts it at #6,323 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 57,810 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Witkowski 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 Witkowski with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.9K
1 in 57,810
Census rank
#6,323
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,170 bearers of the surname Witkowski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6323rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Witkowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Witkowski
The surname Witkowski originates from Poland and is derived from the Polish words "wit," meaning "welcome," and the suffix "-owski," indicating a place of origin. It is believed that the name first emerged in the late Middle Ages, around the 13th or 14th century, in the regions of Greater Poland and Kuyavia.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Witkowski can be found in the Tczew Land Records from 1570, which mentions a certain Jan Witkowski. Another notable early reference is in the Płock Voivodeship Records from 1616, where a Marcin Witkowski is listed.
The name is thought to be derived from a place name, possibly a village or town with a name like "Witkowo" or "Witkowice." These place names were likely derived from the personal name "Witek," a diminutive form of the name "Wit" or "Witold."
One of the earliest known bearers of the Witkowski name was Jan Witkowski, a Polish nobleman and military officer who served as a Captain in the Polish Army during the 17th century. He fought in the Polish-Swedish War (1626-1629) and was known for his bravery and loyalty to the Polish crown.
Another notable figure was Franciszek Witkowski (1744-1814), a Polish priest and author who wrote several religious works and served as a parish priest in the town of Kalisz.
In the 19th century, Józef Witkowski (1835-1892) was a Polish painter and art professor who taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. He is known for his landscape paintings and portraits, which captured the beauty of the Polish countryside and its people.
Stanisław Witkowski (1865-1950) was a prominent Polish mathematician and logician who made significant contributions to the field of set theory. He was a professor at the University of Lviv and later at the University of Warsaw.
Towards the end of the 19th century, Władysław Witkowski (1874-1951) was a Polish historian and writer who specialized in the history of the Polish Reformation and the Polish Renaissance. He authored several books and articles on these topics and served as a professor at the University of Warsaw.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Witkowski
Among Census respondents with the surname Witkowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Witkowski 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 Witkowski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.1% · 4,814
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 153
- Two or more races2.7% · 138
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 31
- Black or African American0.6% · 29
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Witkowski
Witkowski 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
#6,058
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,662
-77 bearers (-1.3%)
Per 100,000 1.92
Rank movement Down 501 places
2020
#6,323
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,170
-492 bearers (-8.7%)
Per 100,000 1.73
Rank movement Down 265 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,557 | 5,739 | 2.13 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,058 | 5,662 | 1.92 | -77 bearers (-1.3%) | Down 501 places |
| 2020 | #6,323 | 5,170 | 1.73 | -492 bearers (-8.7%) | Down 265 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 Witkowski 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 | #6,058 | #6,323 | -4.4% |
| Count | 5,662 | 5,170 | -8.7% |
| Per 100K | 1.92 | 1.73 | -9.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Witkowski bearers went from 5,662 to 5,170 (-8.7% change). The surname moved down 265 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,058 to #6,323.
FAQ
Witkowski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Witkowski?
Name Census estimates that about 5,929 living Americans carry the surname Witkowski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 57,810 residents.
How common is Witkowski?
Witkowski ranks #6,323 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.73 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,170 people with the surname Witkowski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,929), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.73 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Witkowski.
Has Witkowski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Witkowski went from 5,662 recorded bearers to 5,170. That is a decrease of 492 (-8.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,058 to #6,323.
What does the Census say about the background of Witkowski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Witkowski, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Witkowski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (4,814 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Witkowski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.1%), Hispanic (3.0%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Witkowski (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 Witkowski mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "town of Witek" in Polish, referring to a diminutive of the name Wit. 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 Witkowski (1.73 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 Witkowski?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.