2000
#137,816
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Zulka
A surname of Polish origin, derived from a diminutive form of the name Zuzanna.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Zulka. 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 Zulka 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 Zulka 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 Zulka, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Black (6.7%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Zulka
The surname Zulka is of Eastern European origin, most commonly associated with Poland and neighboring regions. The name likely dates back to the medieval period when surnames began to stabilize in usage. Traditionally, surnames in Poland were often derived from geographic locations, occupations, or descriptors of personal traits.
Zulka appears to be a variation or derivative of the name Żulicki or Żułka, which might have evolved from the root word "żółk-" or "żułk-", meaning "yellow" in Old Polish. This etymology suggests the surname could describe someone with blonde or yellowish features or someone coming from a place characterized by yellowish terrain or vegetation.
Historical references to Zulka are sparse in prominent early records. However, it is believed that the name began appearing regularly in regional tax and church records in Poland during the 15th and 16th centuries. A notable early recorded name variant is Jan Żulkowski, mentioned in a 1547 church registry in the Masovian Voivodeship. This region was and remains a significant hub for many Polish surnames.
One of the earliest documented individuals bearing the surname Zulka was Katarzyna Zulka, born around 1590 in Greater Poland. She is mentioned in a 1623 baptismal record from Poznań as the godmother to a local merchant’s child, evidence of the name's established presence in Polish society by that time.
In the 18th century, Antoni Zulka, born in 1732, served as a juror in Kraków. His role in the local judiciary underscores the family's gradual ascendancy into respectable social positions. He passed away in 1795 and is buried in the old Rakowicki Cemetery, one of Kraków's oldest burial sites.
The Zulka name also appears in the 19th century, exemplified by Józef Zulka, born in 1814, who was a participant in the November Uprising of 1830-1831 against Russian rule, demonstrating the patriotic undertones that suffused certain family branches. Józef survived the uprising and later became a farmer in the Podlaskie region, where he lived until his death in 1887.
In the early 20th century, Maria Zulka, born in 1889 in Lublin, was an active member of the Polish Socialist Party. Her political activism and involvement in women's rights movements around the time of Poland regaining independence in 1918 illustrate the evolving roles that members of the Zulka family played in society.
Zulka remains a surname that, while not exceedingly common, carries a rich history tracing back through several centuries of Polish and Eastern European history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zulka
Among Census respondents with the surname Zulka, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Black (6.7%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Zulka 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 Zulka surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.8% · 109
- Black or African American6.7% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Zulka
Zulka 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
#158,432
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
-10 bearers (-8.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 20,616 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
+18 bearers (+17.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 16,383 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #137,816 | 112 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #158,432 | 102 | 0.03 | -10 bearers (-8.9%) | Down 20,616 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | +18 bearers (+17.6%) | Up 16,383 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 Zulka 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 | #158,432 | #142,049 | 10.3% |
| Count | 102 | 120 | 17.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 33.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Zulka bearers went from 102 to 120 (+17.6% change). The surname moved up 16,383 positions in the national ranking, going from #158,432 to #142,049.
FAQ
Zulka surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Zulka?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Zulka. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Zulka?
Zulka 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 Zulka. 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 Zulka.
Has Zulka become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Zulka went from 102 recorded bearers to 120. That is an increase of 18 (+17.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #158,432 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Zulka?
Among Census respondents with the surname Zulka, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Black (6.7%) 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 Zulka in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.8% (109 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Zulka appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.8%), Black (6.7%), 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 Zulka (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 Zulka mean?
A surname of Polish origin, derived from a diminutive form of the name Zuzanna. 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 Zulka (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 last name Zulka?
See how many people have the surname Zulka on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.