Explore the Family Name Kowaleski

The meaning of Kowaleski

Americanized form of Polish Kowalewski, and a rare Polish variant of this name. Compare Kovaleski.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Kowaleski in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname "Kowaleski" has seen a slight decline between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, "Kowaleski" was ranked 21,209 in terms of surname prevalence, while by 2010, it had fallen to 23,634 — an 11.43% decrease. The number of individuals bearing the surname also dipped from 1,153 in 2000 to 1,073 in 2010 — a 6.94% reduction. Similarly, the proportion of people with this surname per 100k inhabitants dropped 16.28% over the same period.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#21,209	#23,634	-11.43%
Count	1,153	1,073	-6.94%
Proportion per 100k	0.43	0.36	-16.28%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Kowaleski

When it comes to ethnic identity associated with the "Kowaleski" surname, as per the Decennial U.S. Census data, there were some notable shifts between 2000 and 2010. While the majority of bearers of the surname identify as White (97.75% in 2000 and 97.39% in 2010), there was a slight decrease of 0.37% in that category over the decade. A very small percentage identified as having two or more races, dropping from 1.04% in 2000 to 0.93% in 2010. The percentage identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native similarly decreased from 0.78% to 0.56%. Interestingly, the Hispanic representation among those with the surname went from non-existent in 2000 to 0.84% in 2010. There were no individuals who identified as Asian/Pacific Islander or Black during either census year.

	2000	2010	Change
White	97.75%	97.39%	-0.37%
Two or More Races	1.04%	0.93%	-10.58%
Hispanic	0%	0.84%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.78%	0.56%	-28.21%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%