2000
#99,725
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 168
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Behuniak
A Ukrainian surname derived from the word "behun", meaning a runner or courier.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 186 Americans carry the last name Behuniak. That puts it at #114,613 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,842,765 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Behuniak surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
186
1 in 1,842,765
Census rank
#114,613
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
162
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 162 bearers of the surname Behuniak in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 114613th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Behuniak, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Behuniak
The surname BEHUNIAK has its origins in the Slavic regions of Eastern Europe, particularly in areas that are now part of modern-day Ukraine and Poland. The name is believed to have emerged sometime during the late medieval period, around the 14th or 15th century.
The name BEHUNIAK is thought to be derived from the Slavic root word "behun," which means "runner" or "messenger." This suggests that the original bearers of this surname may have been messengers or couriers, individuals who were tasked with delivering important messages or documents on foot over long distances.
In its earliest forms, the name was likely spelled in a variety of ways, such as "Behuniak," "Beguniak," or "Bieguniak," reflecting the regional variations in pronunciation and orthography at the time. These variations were common in the days before standardized spelling conventions were widely adopted.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name BEHUNIAK can be found in a document from the 16th century, which mentions a certain Iwan Behuniak, a messenger in the service of a local nobleman in the region of Galicia (now part of western Ukraine). This document, dated 1572, provides valuable insight into the name's historical context and usage.
Throughout the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the surname BEHUNIAK. One such person was Petro Behuniak (1856-1924), a prominent Ukrainian journalist and writer who played a significant role in the cultural and literary movements of his time. Another was Oleksa Behuniak (1892-1968), a respected Ukrainian artist and illustrator whose works captured the essence of rural life in the region.
In the 20th century, the name BEHUNIAK gained recognition through the achievements of individuals like Ivan Behuniak (1919-2002), a renowned Ukrainian-American engineer and inventor who held numerous patents in the field of aerospace technology. Additionally, Mykola Behuniak (1932-2018) was a respected scholar and linguist who made significant contributions to the study of Slavic languages and literature.
While the BEHUNIAK surname may have originated in a specific geographic region, its bearers have since spread across the globe, carrying with them the rich cultural heritage and history associated with this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Behuniak
Among Census respondents with the surname Behuniak, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Behuniak bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Behuniak surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.4% · 153
- Two or more races5.6% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Behuniak
Behuniak appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#109,258
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 162
-6 bearers (-3.6%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 9,533 places
2020
#114,613
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 162
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 5,355 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #99,725 | 168 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #109,258 | 162 | 0.05 | -6 bearers (-3.6%) | Down 9,533 places |
| 2020 | #114,613 | 162 | 0.05 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 5,355 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Behuniak surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #109,258 | #114,613 | -4.9% |
| Count | 162 | 162 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.05 | 8.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Behuniak bearers went from 162 to 162 (+0.0% change). The surname moved down 5,355 positions in the national ranking, going from #109,258 to #114,613.
FAQ
Behuniak surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Behuniak?
Name Census estimates that about 186 living Americans carry the surname Behuniak. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,842,765 residents.
How common is Behuniak?
Behuniak ranks #114,613 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 162 people with the surname Behuniak. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (186), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.05 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Behuniak.
Has Behuniak become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Behuniak went from 162 recorded bearers to 162. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #109,258 to #114,613.
What does the Census say about the background of Behuniak?
Among Census respondents with the surname Behuniak, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Behuniak in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.4% (153 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Behuniak appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.4%), Two or More Races (5.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Behuniak (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Behuniak mean?
A Ukrainian surname derived from the word "behun", meaning a runner or courier. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Behuniak (0.05 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Behuniak?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Behuniak, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.