2000
#7,245
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,246
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.57
Rare Last name
Wrobel
A Polish occupational surname referring to a sparrow, derived from the Polish word "wróbel."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,637 Americans carry the last name Wrobel. That puts it at #7,871 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.35 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 73,917 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wrobel 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 Wrobel with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.6K
1 in 73,917
Census rank
#7,871
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,044 bearers of the surname Wrobel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.35 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7871st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wrobel, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.4%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wrobel
The surname WROBEL originated in Poland, where it first emerged in the Middle Ages around the 12th or 13th century. The name is derived from the Polish word "wróbel," which means "sparrow." It likely referred to someone who had a physical or personality trait resembling a sparrow, such as being small, agile, or lively.
The earliest recorded instances of the WROBEL surname can be found in medieval Polish records and documents. In the 14th century, a man named Janek Wrobel was mentioned in the court records of the city of Krakow. Other early spellings of the name included Vrobel, Wróbel, and Wroblewski, which incorporated the Slavic patronymic suffix "-ski."
One notable bearer of the WROBEL surname was Jan Wrobel, a Polish astronomer and mathematician who lived from 1589 to 1657. He was a professor at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow and made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics.
Another historical figure with the WROBEL surname was Stanislaw Wrobel, a Polish military officer who fought in the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1921. He was born in 1892 and served as a commander in the Polish Army, playing a crucial role in defending his homeland against the Soviet invasion.
In the 18th century, a famous Polish painter named Piotr Wrobel (1718-1782) gained recognition for his religious paintings and portraits. His works can be found in various churches and museums across Poland.
The WROBEL surname also has a connection to a village in southeastern Poland called Wróblik, which means "small sparrow" in Polish. This village likely took its name from the WROBEL family who may have been among its earliest settlers or landowners.
Another notable bearer of the WROBEL surname was Franciszek Wrobel (1842-1912), a Polish architect and urban planner who designed numerous buildings and public spaces in Warsaw and other cities in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wrobel
Among Census respondents with the surname Wrobel, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.4%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Wrobel 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 Wrobel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.7% · 3,831
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 97
- Two or more races1.9% · 77
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 25
- Black or African American0.2% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wrobel
Wrobel 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
#7,408
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,493
+247 bearers (+5.8%)
Per 100,000 1.52
Rank movement Down 163 places
2020
#7,871
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,044
-449 bearers (-10.0%)
Per 100,000 1.35
Rank movement Down 463 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,245 | 4,246 | 1.57 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,408 | 4,493 | 1.52 | +247 bearers (+5.8%) | Down 163 places |
| 2020 | #7,871 | 4,044 | 1.35 | -449 bearers (-10.0%) | Down 463 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 Wrobel 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 | #7,408 | #7,871 | -6.3% |
| Count | 4,493 | 4,044 | -10.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.52 | 1.35 | -11.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wrobel bearers went from 4,493 to 4,044 (-10.0% change). The surname moved down 463 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,408 to #7,871.
FAQ
Wrobel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wrobel?
Name Census estimates that about 4,637 living Americans carry the surname Wrobel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 73,917 residents.
How common is Wrobel?
Wrobel ranks #7,871 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.35 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,044 people with the surname Wrobel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,637), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.35 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.35 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Wrobel.
Has Wrobel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wrobel went from 4,493 recorded bearers to 4,044. That is a decrease of 449 (-10.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,408 to #7,871.
What does the Census say about the background of Wrobel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wrobel, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.4%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Wrobel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.7% (3,831 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wrobel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.7%), Hispanic (2.4%), Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Wrobel (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 Wrobel mean?
A Polish occupational surname referring to a sparrow, derived from the Polish word "wróbel." 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 Wrobel (1.35 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 common is the surname Wrobel?
You can see how many people are called Wrobel on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.