2000
#11,844
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,422
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.90
Rare Last name
Zaremba
A Polish habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "behind the bush or thicket."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,568 Americans carry the last name Zaremba. That puts it at #13,099 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 133,471 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Zaremba 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 Zaremba with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.6K
1 in 133,471
Census rank
#13,099
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,239 bearers of the surname Zaremba in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13099th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Zaremba, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Zaremba
The surname Zaremba is of Polish origin, with its roots tracing back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old Polish word "zarembiec," which means "to enclose" or "to fortify." This suggests that the name may have initially been given to someone who lived near or was associated with a fortified settlement or enclosure.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Zaremba can be found in historical documents from the 14th century in the region of Lesser Poland, particularly in the areas around the city of Krakow. Some of the earliest known bearers of this name include Jan Zaremba, a landowner mentioned in a deed from 1387, and Mikołaj Zaremba, a merchant who lived in Krakow in the late 15th century.
The Zaremba name also appears in some medieval manuscripts and chronicles, such as the "Księga Henrykowska" (Henryków Book), a 13th-century cartulary from the Cistercian monastery in Henryków, Lower Silesia. This suggests that the name was already well-established in various parts of Poland during that period.
Over the centuries, variations in the spelling of the name emerged, including Zaremba, Zarembie, Zarembiewski, and Zarębski. Some of these variations may have been influenced by the locations where different branches of the Zaremba family settled or by the Polish practice of adding suffixes to surnames to indicate family relationships or geographic origins.
Notable individuals who bore the Zaremba surname include:
1. Franciszek Zaremba (1589-1667), a Polish nobleman and military commander who fought in the Smolensk War and the Polish-Muscovite War.
2. Stanisław Zaremba (1863-1942), a Polish mathematician and academic who made significant contributions to the field of partial differential equations.
3. Jan Zaremba (1909-1986), a Polish actor and theater director who performed in numerous plays and films during the interwar and post-World War II periods.
4. Zygmunt Zaremba (1895-1967), a Polish lawyer and politician who served as the Minister of Justice in the Polish government-in-exile during World War II.
5. Aleksander Zaremba (1904-1979), a Polish painter and graphic artist known for his Expressionist and Surrealist works.
While the Zaremba surname is most commonly associated with Poland, it has also been found in other Slavic countries and communities due to migration and intermarriage over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zaremba
Among Census respondents with the surname Zaremba, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Zaremba 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 Zaremba surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.2% · 2,087
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 67
- Two or more races2.5% · 57
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 18
- Black or African American0.4% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Zaremba
Zaremba 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
#12,948
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,372
-50 bearers (-2.1%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 1,104 places
2020
#13,099
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,239
-133 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Down 151 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,844 | 2,422 | 0.90 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,948 | 2,372 | 0.80 | -50 bearers (-2.1%) | Down 1,104 places |
| 2020 | #13,099 | 2,239 | 0.75 | -133 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 151 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 Zaremba 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 | #12,948 | #13,099 | -1.2% |
| Count | 2,372 | 2,239 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.80 | 0.75 | -6.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Zaremba bearers went from 2,372 to 2,239 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 151 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,948 to #13,099.
FAQ
Zaremba surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Zaremba?
Name Census estimates that about 2,568 living Americans carry the surname Zaremba. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 133,471 residents.
How common is Zaremba?
Zaremba ranks #13,099 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.75 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 2,239 people with the surname Zaremba. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,568), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.75 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 Zaremba.
Has Zaremba become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Zaremba went from 2,372 recorded bearers to 2,239. That is a decrease of 133 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,948 to #13,099.
What does the Census say about the background of Zaremba?
Among Census respondents with the surname Zaremba, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Zaremba in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (2,087 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Zaremba appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.2%), Hispanic (3.0%), Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Zaremba (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 Zaremba mean?
A Polish habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "behind the bush or thicket." 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 Zaremba (0.75 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 Zaremba?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.