2010
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Zdybel
Polish surname derived from the word "zdyba", meaning a log used to bind horses' legs.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Zdybel. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Zdybel 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.
Bearers in the US
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Zdybel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Zdybel, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Zdybel
The surname Zdybel has its origins in Eastern Europe, specifically within the regions now known as Poland and parts of Western Ukraine. The name appears to have originated during the late medieval period, around the 14th to 15th centuries, a time when surnames were becoming fixed and hereditary across Europe due to the rise of bureaucratic governmental and ecclesiastical record-keeping.
Etymologically, the surname Zdybel could be linked to a vocative phrase or nickname. It is possible that it derives from old Polish or Ukrainian dialects, though precise translations are challenging due to shifts in language use over centuries. Linguists suggest that it could be related to the word dybel, which in Polish means a dowel or peg, possibly indicating a carpenter or someone who made such items.
Historical references to the name Zdybel are relatively sparse in early records, but it began to appear in parish registers and land documents in the 16th century. The spelling of surnames in these documents was not standardized, so variations such as Zdybel, Zdibel, and Sdybel can be found. Records from the Kingdom of Poland and the region of Galicia, now part of modern Ukraine, show the name frequently appearing in land ownership documents and wills during that time.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Zdybel is Jan Zdybel, a landowner from the Lublin region, who appears in documents from 1523 detailing a land dispute. Another notable figure is Stephan Zdybel, who served as a minor noble and a member of the Szlachta (the noble class) in the early 1600s in the region of Podolia, now in Ukraine.
In the 18th century, Michal Zdybel, born in 1743, is noted for his service as a clerk in the courts of Kraków. Later records from the 19th century mention Katarzyna Zdybel (1805–1873), a well-known midwife in the Łódź area, whose services were recognized by both rural and urban communities. Another significant figure is Wladyslaw Zdybel (1841–1901), an educator and writer who contributed to the development of Polish literary circles in Lwów, then part of Austria-Hungary.
The surname continued into the 20th century with figures like Antoni Zdybel (1885–1944), a social activist and member of the Polish underground resistance during World War II, who was tragically killed in the Warsaw Uprising. While modern records are not mentioned, these historical figures give a glimpse into the varied roles members of the Zdybel family played in their societies throughout history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zdybel
Among Census respondents with the surname Zdybel, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Zdybel 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 Zdybel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.7% · 116
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Zdybel
Zdybel appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
-1 bearers (-0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,745 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.8%) | Down 3,745 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 Zdybel 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 | #138,304 | #142,049 | -2.7% |
| Count | 121 | 120 | -0.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Zdybel bearers went from 121 to 120 (-0.8% change). The surname moved down 3,745 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #142,049.
FAQ
Zdybel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Zdybel?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Zdybel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Zdybel?
Zdybel ranks #142,049 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 120 people with the surname Zdybel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Zdybel.
Has Zdybel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Zdybel went from 121 recorded bearers to 120. That is a decrease of 1 (-0.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Zdybel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Zdybel, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.7%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Zdybel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.7% (116 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Zdybel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.7%), Hispanic (1.7%), Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Zdybel (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 Zdybel mean?
Polish surname derived from the word "zdyba", meaning a log used to bind horses' legs. 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 Zdybel (0.04 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 surname Zdybel?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.