Explore the Family Name Witkowski
The meaning of Witkowski
Polish: habitational name for someone from any of the places in Poland called Witkowo, Witków, or Witkowice, named with the personal name Witek. Some characteristic forenames: Polish Ignatius, Tadeusz, Casimir, Krzysztof, Andrzej, Jerzy, Stanislaw, Aleksander, Dorota, Eugeniusz, Halina, Jacek.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Witkowski in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Witkowski has slightly decreased between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked 5557th in terms of commonality, but by 2010, it had slipped to the 6058th position, a decrease of 9.02%. The count also dipped from 5739 in 2000 to 5662 in 2010, marking a 1.34% drop. Consequently, the proportion of people with the surname Witkowski per 100k individuals fell by approximately 9.86% during this same period.
2000 | 2010 | Change | |
---|---|---|---|
Rank | #5,557 | #6,058 | -9.02% |
Count | 5,739 | 5,662 | -1.34% |
Proportion per 100k | 2.13 | 1.92 | -9.86% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Witkowski
In terms of ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows that the majority of individuals with the surname Witkowski identify as White, with 96.97% in 2000 and 96.36% in 2010. A small percentage identified as Hispanic (1.43% in 2000, increasing to 1.71% in 2010), while an even smaller number identified as Asian/Pacific Islander (increasing from 0.35% in 2000 to 0.53% in 2010). The percentage of those identifying as Two or more races decreased slightly from 0.94% to 0.85%. Interestingly, there were new identifications in 2010 that weren't present in 2000: 0.34% identified as Black and 0.21% as American Indian and Alaskan Native.
2000 | 2010 | Change | |
---|---|---|---|
White | 96.97% | 96.36% | -0.63% |
Hispanic | 1.43% | 1.71% | 19.58% |
Two or More Races | 0.94% | 0.85% | -9.57% |
Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.35% | 0.53% | 51.43% |
Black | 0% | 0.34% | 0% |
American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0% | 0.21% | 0% |
Witkowski 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 Witkowski is Eastern European, which comprises 38.7% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are British & Irish (24.0%) and French & German (19.8%). Additional ancestries include Italian, Scandinavian, Spanish & Portuguese, Ashkenazi Jewish, and Indigenous American.
Ready to learn more about your ancestry? Get the most comprehensive ancestry breakdown on the market by taking our DNA test. Shop 23andMe
ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
---|---|
Eastern European | 38.7% |
British & Irish | 24.0% |
French & German | 19.8% |
Other | 17.4% |
Possible origins of the surname Witkowski
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 Witkowski have recent ancestry locations spanning a few countries, mostly in Poland, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
---|---|
Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland | 59.30% |
Greater London, United Kingdom | 58.60% |
Masovian Voivodeship, Poland | 58.60% |
West Midlands, United Kingdom | 58.60% |
Glasgow City, United Kingdom | 57.90% |
What Witkowski 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 Witkowski is I-S17250, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup I-S17250 is descended from haplogroup I-M170. Other common haplogroups include R-U152 and I-DF29, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Nowak, Urban, Horvath, Toth, Molnar, Kowalski, Varga, Schultz, Jankowski, Szabo.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Witkowski surname are: H1, U2_3_4_7_8_9, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
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.
What do people with the surname Witkowski 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
Traits
Habits
Wellness
Are health conditions linked to the last name Witkowski?
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 Witkowski are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition