2000
#124,109
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 128
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Zelkowitz
A surname of Ashkenazi Jewish origin derived from the German town of Zülz.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 139 Americans carry the last name Zelkowitz. That puts it at #141,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,465,859 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Zelkowitz 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
139
1 in 2,465,859
Census rank
#141,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
121
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 121 bearers of the surname Zelkowitz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 141309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Zelkowitz, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Zelkowitz
The surname Zelkowitz has its origins in Eastern Europe, particularly among the Ashkenazi Jewish communities in Poland and surrounding regions. The name is believed to have come into use around the 17th and 18th centuries. It is likely derived from a place name, specifically the Polish village of Żelki or Żółkiew, indicating that the original bearers of the surname may have hailed from these areas.
The name Zelkowitz is a toponymic surname, which means it is based on a geographical location. In this case, it refers to someone from the aforementioned villages. The suffix -witz is a Germanized form of the Slavic suffix -wicz, which means "son of" or "descendant of." Thus, Zelkowitz would roughly translate to "son of Żelki" or "descendant of Żółkiew." These suffixes were often added during a time when Jews in Poland were mandated to adopt fixed surnames.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Zelkowitz appear in Jewish community records and tax registries from the late 18th century. One such example is a record from the Jewish community of Lublin in 1787, which lists a Mendel Zelkowitz as a taxpayer. Another notable early record is from 1802, found in Kraków, mentioning a Jacob Zelkowitz as a merchant.
One of the more famous historical figures bearing the surname was Rabbi Moshe Zelkowitz, born in 1825 and died in 1899. He was a noted Talmudic scholar and leader in the Jewish community of Vilnius. In the late 19th century, another prominent individual, Boris Zelkowitz, emerged as a successful businessman in Odessa, born in 1860 and died in 1925.
The name carried into the 20th century with individuals like David Zelkowitz, an early Zionist activist born in 1887 in Warsaw and passing in 1943. He played a critical role in the Zionist movement in Eastern Europe. In the realm of science, Dr. Miriam Zelkowitz, born in 1905 and who passed in 1980, made significant contributions to medical research and was a respected faculty member at the University of Vienna.
The surname's variations and historical depth provide a rich tapestry reflecting the Jewish diaspora's movements and contributions over several centuries. The legacy of the name Zelkowitz continues to be observed in various historical texts and family genealogies.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zelkowitz
Among Census respondents with the surname Zelkowitz, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Zelkowitz 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 Zelkowitz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.9% · 116
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Zelkowitz
Zelkowitz 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
#143,149
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
-12 bearers (-9.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 19,040 places
2020
#141,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+5 bearers (+4.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 1,840 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #124,109 | 128 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #143,149 | 116 | 0.04 | -12 bearers (-9.4%) | Down 19,040 places |
| 2020 | #141,309 | 121 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.3%) | Up 1,840 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 Zelkowitz 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 | #143,149 | #141,309 | 1.3% |
| Count | 116 | 121 | 4.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 1.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Zelkowitz bearers went from 116 to 121 (+4.3% change). The surname moved up 1,840 positions in the national ranking, going from #143,149 to #141,309.
FAQ
Zelkowitz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Zelkowitz?
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the surname Zelkowitz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,465,859 residents.
How common is Zelkowitz?
Zelkowitz ranks #141,309 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 121 people with the surname Zelkowitz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (139), 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 Zelkowitz.
Has Zelkowitz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Zelkowitz went from 116 recorded bearers to 121. That is an increase of 5 (+4.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #143,149 to #141,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Zelkowitz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Zelkowitz, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5%) and Hispanic (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 Zelkowitz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.9% (116 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Zelkowitz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5%), Hispanic (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 Zelkowitz (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 Zelkowitz mean?
A surname of Ashkenazi Jewish origin derived from the German town of Zülz. 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 Zelkowitz (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 common is the surname Zelkowitz?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Zelkowitz, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.