Explore the Family Name Sokolowski

The meaning of Sokolowski

Polish and Jewish (from Poland) (Sokołowski): habitational name for someone from any of numerous places called Sokołów or Sokołowo, named with Polish sokół ‘falcon’. Some characteristic forenames: Polish Stanislaw, Zygmunt, Andrzej, Casimir, Czeslaw, Janusz, Jaroslaw, Jerzy, Krzysztof, Mieczyslaw, Piotr, Wladyslaw.

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

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

Based on the data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Sokolowski has seen a minor decline between 2000 and 2010. It fell in rank from 7601 to 7988, a decrease of 5.09%. However, the actual count of people with this surname increased slightly by 2.58%, from 4035 to 4139 during the same period. Interestingly, the proportion per 100,000 people decreased by 6.67% suggesting that while the number of individuals with the Sokolowski surname rose, it did not keep pace with the overall population growth.

20002010Change
Rank#7,601#7,988-5.09%
Count4,0354,1392.58%
Proportion per 100k1.51.4-6.67%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Sokolowski

The Decennial U.S. Census also provides valuable insights into the ethnic identity of individuals bearing the Sokolowski surname. In 2010, the majority identified as White, although this figure decreased slightly from 97.05% in 2000 to 95.65%. The number of Sokolowskis identifying as Hispanic more than doubled, increasing from 1.44% to 2.92%. Similarly, those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander saw an increase of 29.73%. On the other hand, the percentage of Sokolowskis identifying as Black or American Indian and Alaskan Native both dropped by 40%. Those identifying with two or more ethnicities also declined by 5.41%.

20002010Change
White97.05%95.65%-1.44%
Hispanic1.44%2.92%102.78%
Two or More Races0.74%0.7%-5.41%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.37%0.48%29.73%
Black0.2%0.12%-40%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.2%0.12%-40%

Sokolowski ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Sokolowski is Eastern European, which comprises 44.8% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are British & Irish (24.0%) and French & German (15.5%). Additional ancestries include Italian, Scandinavian, Ashkenazi Jewish, Spanish & Portuguese, and Greek & Balkan.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
Eastern European44.8%
British & Irish24.0%
French & German15.5%
Other15.7%
Sokolowski

Possible origins of the surname Sokolowski

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Sokolowski have recent ancestry locations in Poland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Masovian Voivodeship, Poland67.50%
Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Poland65.00%
Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland65.00%
Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland60.70%
Glasgow City, United Kingdom53.00%

What Sokolowski haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Sokolowski is R-L23, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-L23 is descended from haplogroup R-M343. Other common haplogroups include R-Y2905 and R-CTS3402, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Olszewski, Mazur, Kozak, Varga, Laskowski, Wozniak, Wilk, Novak, Kozlowski, Bodnar.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Sokolowski surname are: H1, H, U5a1. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

sokolowskiPaternal Haplogroup Origins R-M343
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to Niall of the Nine Hostages

The spread of haplogroup R-M269 in northern Ireland and Scotland was likely aided by men like Niall of the Nine Hostages. Perhaps more myth than man, Niall of the Nine Hostages is said to have been a King of Tara in northwestern Ireland in the late 4th century C.E. His name comes from a tale of nine hostages that he held from the regions he ruled over. Though the legendary stories of his life may have been invented hundreds of years after he died, genetic evidence suggests that the Uí Néill dynasty, whose name means "descendants of Niall," did in fact trace back to just one man who bore a branch of haplogroup R-M269.The Uí Néill ruled to various degrees as kings of Ireland from the 7th to the 11th century C.E. In the highly patriarchal society of medieval Ireland, their status allowed them to have outsized numbers of children and spread their paternal lineage each generation. In fact, researchers have estimated that between 2 and 3 million men with roots in north-west Ireland are paternal-line descendants of Niall.

Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette

Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Sokolowski have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Sokolowski

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Sokolowski" Surname 55.3%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Habits

Sokolowski

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Sokolowski" Surname 22.0%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Sokolowski

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Sokolowski" Surname 16.3%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Sokolowski?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Sokolowski are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Eastern European 60.6%

23andMe Users 57.2%