Radek
A masculine Czech diminutive form of the Slavic name Radoslav, meaning "rejoicing in glory".
Name Census estimates that about 175 living Americans carry the first name Radek. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Radek today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Radek births was 2009 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Radek. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
175
~ 1 in 1,958,596 Americans
Peak year
2009
17 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2023 SSA rank
#8,759
Tracked since 2003
Popularity
Radek: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Radek from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 82 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Radek remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Radek by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Radek during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Radek
The given name Radek is of Slavic origin, specifically Czech and Polish. It is a diminutive form of the name Radoslav, which is derived from the Slavic words "rad" meaning "joyful" or "happy" and "slav" meaning "glory" or "fame."
The earliest recorded use of the name Radek dates back to the 12th century in Bohemia, which is now part of the Czech Republic. It was a popular name among the Czech nobility and gentry during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest notable figures with the name Radek was Radek of Hroznata, a 13th-century Bohemian nobleman and military leader who fought against the Mongol invasion of Europe in the Battle of Olomouc in 1241.
In the 15th century, Radek Kozísek was a Czech Catholic priest and writer known for his works on medieval theology and philosophy.
During the 16th century, Radek Bienias was a Polish nobleman and military commander who served under King Sigismund III Vasa and played a significant role in the Polish-Swedish War of 1626-1629.
In the 19th century, Radek Dveřák was a Czech composer and violinist who was a contemporary of Antonín Dvořák and contributed to the development of Czech national music.
Another notable figure with the name Radek was Radek Sikorski, a Polish politician and journalist who served as the Minister of National Defense and Deputy Prime Minister of Poland in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Radek
People
Radek + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Radek as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Radek: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Radek?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 175 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Radek going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,958,596 US residents.
Is Radek a common name?
We classify Radek as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 177 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Radek most popular?
The single biggest year for Radek was 2009, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Radek is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Radek a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Radek in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.