Find out how popular the last name Barak is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Barak.

Barak, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Barak surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Barak in America

Barak is the 28408th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Barak surname appeared 840 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Barak.

We can also compare 2010 data for Barak to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Barak

The surname BARAK is believed to have originated from the Hebrew language and culture. It can be traced back to ancient times in the Middle East, particularly in the region that is now Israel and the Palestinian territories.

One of the earliest known references to the name BARAK is found in the Bible, where it appears as the name of a military leader who fought against the Canaanites. This biblical figure, Barak, lived around the 12th century BCE and is mentioned in the Book of Judges.

The name BARAK is derived from the Hebrew word "barak," which means "lightning" or "flash of light." It is thought to have been used as a descriptive name, perhaps referring to someone with a quick or fiery temperament, or someone who was perceived as having a bright or radiant personality.

In ancient Hebrew texts, the name BARAK is sometimes spelled differently, such as "Baraq" or "Bārak." These variations in spelling were common in early written records, as spelling conventions were not yet standardized.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname BARAK can be found in the Geniza documents, a collection of medieval manuscripts discovered in Cairo, Egypt. These documents, which date back to the 11th century CE, contain references to individuals with the surname BARAK living in various parts of the Middle East and North Africa.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname BARAK. One of the most famous was Ehud Barak (1942-), an Israeli politician and military leader who served as the Prime Minister of Israel from 1999 to 2001.

Another prominent figure with the surname BARAK was Abraham Barak (1908-1973), an Israeli jurist and legal scholar who served as the President of the Supreme Court of Israel from 1964 to 1970.

In the field of literature, the Israeli author and playwright Aharon Barak (1902-1974) made significant contributions to Hebrew literature in the 20th century.

The name BARAK has also been associated with various place names, particularly in the Middle East. For example, there is a town called Barak in northern Israel, located near the Lebanese border.

While the surname BARAK has its roots in the Hebrew language and culture, it has spread and been adopted by various communities around the world, reflecting the diaspora of Jewish and Middle Eastern populations throughout history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Barak

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Barak.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Barak was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Barak has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Barak was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Barak, please contact us.

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