2000
#81,100
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 217
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.08
Very Rare Last name
Samulski
A Polish surname derived from the word "sam" meaning alone or self.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 233 Americans carry the last name Samulski. That puts it at #96,193 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,471,049 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Samulski 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
233
1 in 1,471,049
Census rank
#96,193
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
203
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 203 bearers of the surname Samulski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 96193rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Samulski, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.9%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Samulski
The surname Samulski is of Polish origin, with roots tracing back to the late Middle Ages. The name likely derives from the Polish word 'samula', meaning 'person living alone' or 'hermit'. It may also be a variation of the more common Polish surname 'Samulewicz'.
The earliest known records of the Samulski name appear in the 16th century in the region of Silesia, which at the time was part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Variants of the spelling found in historical documents include Samulsky, Samulski, and Samulsky. A notable early bearer of the name was Jan Samulski, a Polish landowner and minor nobleman born in 1578 in the village of Samulsko, near the city of Wroclaw.
By the 17th century, the Samulski name had spread to other parts of Poland and the surrounding regions. Records from this period mention a Marcin Samulski, a merchant and trader from the city of Gdansk, born in 1623. Another prominent individual was Katarzyna Samulska, a Polish noblewoman and landowner from the Krakow area, who lived from 1679 to 1742.
The 18th century saw the emergence of several notable Samulskis, including Jozef Samulski, a Polish military officer who served in the army of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth during the partitions of Poland in the late 1700s. Jozef Samulski was born in 1752 and died in 1812.
In the 19th century, the Samulski name continued to be found across various regions of what is now modern-day Poland, as well as in parts of Ukraine and Belarus, which were formerly part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. A prominent figure from this period was Franciszek Samulski, a Polish writer and journalist born in 1825 in the town of Tarnow. He was known for his works on Polish culture and history.
Another notable individual was Wladyslaw Samulski, a Polish engineer and inventor born in 1865 in the city of Lodz. He is credited with developing several important innovations in textile manufacturing machinery, which were widely adopted in the industrial centers of Poland and beyond.
As with many Polish surnames, the Samulski name began to appear more frequently in other parts of Europe and the Americas in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as waves of Polish immigrants sought new opportunities abroad. However, the historical origins and earliest recorded examples of the name can be traced back to its roots in the regions of what is now modern-day Poland, dating back several centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Samulski
Among Census respondents with the surname Samulski, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.9%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Samulski 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 Samulski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.2% · 179
- Two or more races6.9% · 14
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Samulski
Samulski 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
#88,020
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 211
-6 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.07
Rank movement Down 6,920 places
2020
#96,193
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 203
-8 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.07
Rank movement Down 8,173 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #81,100 | 217 | 0.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #88,020 | 211 | 0.07 | -6 bearers (-2.8%) | Down 6,920 places |
| 2020 | #96,193 | 203 | 0.07 | -8 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 8,173 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 Samulski 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 | #88,020 | #96,193 | -9.3% |
| Count | 211 | 203 | -3.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.07 | 0.07 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Samulski bearers went from 211 to 203 (-3.8% change). The surname moved down 8,173 positions in the national ranking, going from #88,020 to #96,193.
FAQ
Samulski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Samulski?
Name Census estimates that about 233 living Americans carry the surname Samulski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,471,049 residents.
How common is Samulski?
Samulski ranks #96,193 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 203 people with the surname Samulski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (233), 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 Samulski.
Has Samulski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Samulski went from 211 recorded bearers to 203. That is a decrease of 8 (-3.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #88,020 to #96,193.
What does the Census say about the background of Samulski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Samulski, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.9%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Samulski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.2% (179 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Samulski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.2%), Two or More Races (6.9%), Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Samulski (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 Samulski mean?
A Polish surname derived from the word "sam" meaning alone or self. 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 Samulski (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 are called Samulski?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Samulski on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.