Find out how popular the last name Zaleski is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Zaleski.

Zaleski, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Zaleski surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Zaleski in America

Zaleski is the 9451st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Zaleski surname appeared 3,442 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Zaleski.

We can also compare 2010 data for Zaleski to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Zaleski

The surname Zaleski is of Polish origin, and it is believed to have originated in the late Middle Ages or early Renaissance period. The name is derived from the Polish word "zalek," which means "beyond the hills" or "beyond the hills and forests." This suggests that the name was likely given to people who lived in remote or isolated areas, possibly in the forested regions of what is now central or eastern Poland.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Zaleski can be found in various historical documents and records from the 15th and 16th centuries. For example, there are references to individuals with the name Zaleski in the Polish Nobility Records (Polska Ksiega Rodów Szlacheckich) from the late 15th century. Additionally, the name appears in some local parish records and land registries from the 16th century in areas around modern-day Warsaw and Lublin.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Jan Zaleski, a Polish nobleman and landowner who lived in the early 16th century. Records indicate that he owned estates in the region of Masovia, which was part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at the time.

Another notable figure with the surname Zaleski was Wacław Zaleski, a Polish poet and writer who lived from 1799 to 1849. He was a prominent figure in the Polish Romantic literary movement and is known for his works that celebrated Polish patriotism and national identity.

In the 19th century, there was a famous Polish painter named Tadeusz Zaleski (1824-1886), whose works often depicted scenes from Polish history and folklore. He was a member of the prestigious Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts in Warsaw.

Józef Zaleski (1802-1886) was a Polish military leader and politician who fought in the November Uprising against Russian rule in the early 19th century. After the failed uprising, he went into exile and later became a member of the Polish National Government in France.

Another notable bearer of the name was Bronisław Zaleski (1870-1936), a Polish diplomat and statesman who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Second Polish Republic in the 1920s and 1930s.

While the surname Zaleski originated in Poland, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to migration and diaspora communities. However, its roots can be traced back to the forested regions of central and eastern Poland, where it was likely first coined as a descriptive name for those living in remote or isolated areas beyond the hills and forests.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Zaleski

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Zaleski.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Zaleski was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Zaleski has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Zaleski was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Zaleski, please contact us.

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