2000
#81,700
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 215
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.08
Very Rare Last name
Kaptur
A Polish surname derived from the Polish word "kaptur," meaning "hood" or "cowl."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 253 Americans carry the last name Kaptur. That puts it at #89,848 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,354,760 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kaptur 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
253
1 in 1,354,760
Census rank
#89,848
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
221
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 221 bearers of the surname Kaptur in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 89848th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kaptur, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kaptur
The surname Kaptur originates from Poland, where it first emerged during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Polish word "kaptur," which means "hood" or "cowl." This suggests that the name was likely initially given as a descriptive surname to someone who wore a distinctive hood or cowl, perhaps a monk or a member of a religious order.
The earliest known record of the Kaptur surname dates back to the 15th century in the region of Lesser Poland (Małopolska), particularly in the city of Kraków and its surrounding areas. The name was also found in other parts of Poland, such as Silesia and the Mazovia region.
In the 16th century, the name appeared in various historical records, including parish registers and land ownership documents. One notable figure from this time was Jan Kaptur, a merchant and landowner who lived in the town of Bochnia in the late 1500s.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Kaptur surname continued to be prevalent in Poland, particularly among the urban populations of cities like Warsaw, Kraków, and Poznań. Some notable individuals bearing this name include Marcin Kaptur, a respected lawyer and judge in Warsaw in the mid-1600s, and Katarzyna Kaptur, a philanthropist and benefactor of several churches in Kraków in the late 1700s.
As the Kaptur family dispersed throughout Poland over the centuries, variations in spelling emerged, such as Kapturski, Kapturowicz, and Kapturczyk. These variations often indicated regional or dialectal differences or were adopted to distinguish different branches of the family.
In the 19th century, the Kaptur surname gained further prominence with the birth of Ignacy Kaptur (1805-1879), a renowned Polish writer and poet who authored several works celebrating Polish heritage and culture. Another notable figure was Władysław Kaptur (1841-1915), a prominent architect who designed numerous buildings in Warsaw, including the iconic Staszic Palace.
As Polish emigrants began to settle in other parts of Europe and the Americas in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Kaptur surname spread beyond its Polish origins. However, the name's roots can still be traced back to the medieval era in Poland, where it emerged as a descriptive surname with a unique connection to traditional attire and occupations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kaptur
Among Census respondents with the surname Kaptur, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Kaptur 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 Kaptur surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.8% · 205
- Two or more races3.6% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kaptur
Kaptur 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
#82,613
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 228
+13 bearers (+6.0%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Down 913 places
2020
#89,848
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 221
-7 bearers (-3.1%)
Per 100,000 0.07
Rank movement Down 7,235 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #81,700 | 215 | 0.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #82,613 | 228 | 0.08 | +13 bearers (+6.0%) | Down 913 places |
| 2020 | #89,848 | 221 | 0.07 | -7 bearers (-3.1%) | Down 7,235 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 Kaptur 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 | #82,613 | #89,848 | -8.8% |
| Count | 228 | 221 | -3.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.08 | 0.07 | -7.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kaptur bearers went from 228 to 221 (-3.1% change). The surname moved down 7,235 positions in the national ranking, going from #82,613 to #89,848.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Kaptur
FAQ
Kaptur surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kaptur?
Name Census estimates that about 253 living Americans carry the surname Kaptur. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,354,760 residents.
How common is Kaptur?
Kaptur ranks #89,848 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.07 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 221 people with the surname Kaptur. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (253), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.07 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.07 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 Kaptur.
Has Kaptur become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kaptur went from 228 recorded bearers to 221. That is a decrease of 7 (-3.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #82,613 to #89,848.
What does the Census say about the background of Kaptur?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kaptur, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.3%). 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 Kaptur in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.8% (205 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kaptur appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.8%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.3%). 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 Kaptur (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 Kaptur mean?
A Polish surname derived from the Polish word "kaptur," meaning "hood" or "cowl." 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 Kaptur (0.07 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 Kaptur?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Kaptur is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.