2000
#127,948
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Pierzynski
A surname of Polish origin meaning "from the feathers".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Pierzynski. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pierzynski 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Pierzynski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pierzynski, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pierzynski
The surname Pierzynski has its origins in Poland. It emerged during the late medieval period, around the 14th or 15th century. The name is derived from the Polish word "pierze," which means "feather" or "plume." This suggests that the name may have originated as a descriptive surname for someone who worked with feathers or had a distinctive feathery appearance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Pierzynski can be found in the Polish town of Krakow, where a record from 1465 mentions a person named Jan Pierzynski. The name also appears in various historical documents from the region of Silesia, which was part of the Kingdom of Poland until the 18th century.
In the 16th century, a notable figure named Stanisław Pierzynski was a Polish nobleman and military commander who fought against the Teutonic Knights. He was born in 1524 and died in 1587. During the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth era, the Pierzynski family was part of the Polish nobility and held lands in various regions of the country.
Another individual of note was Józef Pierzynski, a Polish painter who lived from 1760 to 1829. He is known for his portraits and religious paintings, many of which can still be found in churches and museums across Poland.
In the 19th century, a mathematician named Krystyn Pierzynski made significant contributions to the field of algebra. He was born in 1818 in the city of Poznań and died in 1892. His work on algebraic equations and theories helped advance the understanding of mathematics during that time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name outside of Poland can be found in the United States, where a man named Jan Pierzynski immigrated from Poland in the late 19th century. He settled in the city of Chicago, where he worked as a laborer and raised a family, helping to establish the Pierzynski name in America.
While the name Pierzynski is relatively uncommon outside of Poland, it has been carried by numerous individuals throughout history, often reflecting the Polish heritage and cultural traditions associated with this surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pierzynski
Among Census respondents with the surname Pierzynski, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Pierzynski 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 Pierzynski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.8% · 113
- Two or more races2.5% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pierzynski
Pierzynski 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
#126,765
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 135
+12 bearers (+9.8%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 1,183 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
-17 bearers (-12.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 16,746 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #127,948 | 123 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #126,765 | 135 | 0.05 | +12 bearers (+9.8%) | Up 1,183 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | -17 bearers (-12.6%) | Down 16,746 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 Pierzynski 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 | #126,765 | #143,511 | -13.2% |
| Count | 135 | 118 | -12.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -21.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pierzynski bearers went from 135 to 118 (-12.6% change). The surname moved down 16,746 positions in the national ranking, going from #126,765 to #143,511.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Pierzynski
FAQ
Pierzynski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pierzynski?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Pierzynski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Pierzynski?
Pierzynski ranks #143,511 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 118 people with the surname Pierzynski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), 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 Pierzynski.
Has Pierzynski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pierzynski went from 135 recorded bearers to 118. That is a decrease of 17 (-12.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #126,765 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Pierzynski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pierzynski, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (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 Pierzynski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.8% (113 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pierzynski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.8%), Two or More Races (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 Pierzynski (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 Pierzynski mean?
A surname of Polish origin meaning "from the feathers". 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 Pierzynski (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 share the surname Pierzynski?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.