2000
#119,644
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 134
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Lacny
A Polish surname derived from the word "las" meaning forest or woods.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 159 Americans carry the last name Lacny. That puts it at #128,411 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,155,688 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lacny 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
159
1 in 2,155,688
Census rank
#128,411
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
139
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 139 bearers of the surname Lacny in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 128411th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lacny, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (1.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lacny
The surname Lacny originates from Poland and dates back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old Polish word "lacny," which means "cheap" or "inexpensive." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a descriptive nickname or occupational surname to someone who worked in a trade or profession that involved bargaining or selling goods at a low cost.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Lacny surname can be found in the Tarnów land records from the year 1398, where a certain Jakub Lacny is mentioned. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by the late 14th century.
In the 16th century, the name appears in the Metryka Koronna, a collection of historical documents from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This includes a record from 1564 mentioning a nobleman named Jan Lacny, who was granted land in the village of Wąwolnica.
The Lacny surname is also connected to the village of Łącko, located in the southern region of Poland known as Lesser Poland (Małopolska). It is possible that the name originated from this particular place name, although the exact connection is unclear.
Notable individuals with the Lacny surname throughout history include:
1. Wojciech Lacny (1554-1619), a Polish Catholic priest and writer who authored several religious texts.
2. Franciszek Lacny (1789-1867), a Polish landowner and philanthropist who funded the construction of several schools and churches in his local area.
3. Józef Lacny (1847-1914), a Polish painter and art teacher who is known for his landscape and portrait works.
4. Władysław Lacny (1875-1942), a Polish lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Sejm (parliament) in the early 20th century.
5. Zdzisław Lacny (1915-1995), a Polish military officer and resistance fighter who participated in the Warsaw Uprising during World War II.
While the Lacny surname is not as common as some other Polish surnames, it has a rich historical legacy spanning several centuries and represents an interesting aspect of Poland's cultural and linguistic heritage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lacny
Among Census respondents with the surname Lacny, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (1.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Lacny 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 Lacny surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.2% · 131
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 5
- Two or more races1.4% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lacny
Lacny 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
#128,249
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 133
-1 bearers (-0.7%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 8,605 places
2020
#128,411
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 139
+6 bearers (+4.5%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 162 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #119,644 | 134 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #128,249 | 133 | 0.05 | -1 bearers (-0.7%) | Down 8,605 places |
| 2020 | #128,411 | 139 | 0.05 | +6 bearers (+4.5%) | Down 162 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 Lacny 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 | #128,249 | #128,411 | -0.1% |
| Count | 133 | 139 | 4.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.05 | -7.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lacny bearers went from 133 to 139 (+4.5% change). The surname moved down 162 positions in the national ranking, going from #128,249 to #128,411.
FAQ
Lacny surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lacny?
Name Census estimates that about 159 living Americans carry the surname Lacny. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,155,688 residents.
How common is Lacny?
Lacny ranks #128,411 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.05 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 139 people with the surname Lacny. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (159), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.05 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 Lacny.
Has Lacny become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lacny went from 133 recorded bearers to 139. That is an increase of 6 (+4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #128,249 to #128,411.
What does the Census say about the background of Lacny?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lacny, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (1.4%). 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 Lacny in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.2% (131 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lacny appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.2%), Hispanic (3.6%), Two or More Races (1.4%). 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 Lacny (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 Lacny mean?
A Polish surname derived from the word "las" meaning forest or woods. 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 Lacny (0.05 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 Lacny?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Lacny? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.