2000
#8,717
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,470
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.29
Rare Last name
Zaleski
Polish habitational surname derived from any of various places named Zalesie, meaning "place in or near the woods."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,593 Americans carry the last name Zaleski. That puts it at #9,852 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 95,395 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Zaleski 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 Zaleski with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.6K
1 in 95,395
Census rank
#9,852
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,133 bearers of the surname Zaleski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9852nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Zaleski, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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The earliest recorded instances of the name Zaleski can be found in various historical documents and records from the 15th and 16th centuries.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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zaleski
Among Census respondents with the surname Zaleski, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Zaleski 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 Zaleski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.4% · 2,895
- Two or more races3.1% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 94
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 35
- Black or African American0.3% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Zaleski
Zaleski 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
#9,451
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,442
-28 bearers (-0.8%)
Per 100,000 1.17
Rank movement Down 734 places
2020
#9,852
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,133
-309 bearers (-9.0%)
Per 100,000 1.05
Rank movement Down 401 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,717 | 3,470 | 1.29 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,451 | 3,442 | 1.17 | -28 bearers (-0.8%) | Down 734 places |
| 2020 | #9,852 | 3,133 | 1.05 | -309 bearers (-9.0%) | Down 401 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 Zaleski 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 | #9,451 | #9,852 | -4.2% |
| Count | 3,442 | 3,133 | -9.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.17 | 1.05 | -10.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Zaleski bearers went from 3,442 to 3,133 (-9.0% change). The surname moved down 401 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,451 to #9,852.
FAQ
Zaleski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Zaleski?
Name Census estimates that about 3,593 living Americans carry the surname Zaleski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 95,395 residents.
How common is Zaleski?
Zaleski ranks #9,852 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.05 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 3,133 people with the surname Zaleski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,593), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.05 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 Zaleski.
Has Zaleski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Zaleski went from 3,442 recorded bearers to 3,133. That is a decrease of 309 (-9.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,451 to #9,852.
What does the Census say about the background of Zaleski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Zaleski, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Zaleski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (2,895 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Zaleski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.4%), Two or More Races (3.1%), Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Zaleski (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 Zaleski mean?
Polish habitational surname derived from any of various places named Zalesie, meaning "place in or near the woods." 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 Zaleski (1.05 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 have the last name Zaleski?
Want to know how common the surname Zaleski is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.