The Motyka surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 1,207 people carried this name — #21,609 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 243,900 people counted. That is up 4% from 1,160 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Motyka surname
From Polish Motyka, Czech Motyka, Slovak Motyka, and Ukrainian Мотика (Motyka).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Motyka» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Poland’s population register
7,617 people named Motyka have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 8,266 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in all 16 of Poland’s voivodeships, most of all in Lesser Poland.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 61 people named Motyka.
20 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 15 départements, most often Paris.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 31 people named Motyka live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Córdoba.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
23 people named Motyka is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
Who carried it
People named Motyka,
with a public archive behind them.
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Feliks Motyka 1898–1958 · military officer -
Stanisław Motyka 1906–1941 · mountaineer -
Zdzisław Motyka 1907–1969 · athletics competitor -
Jan Motyka 1839–1910 · farm operator
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Josef Motyka 1888–1943
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Gereon Motyka 1892–1969 · Catholic priest
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Motyka.
When the index is not enough
This page says where Motyka is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.