Burek last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Burek

A surname potentially derived from a Polish place name referring to someone from that location.

Burek, 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 Burek surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Burek in America

Burek is the 23618th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Burek surname appeared 1,074 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 Burek.

We can also compare 2010 data for Burek 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 23618 23104 2.20%
Count 1,074 1,032 3.99%
Proportion per 100k 0.36 0.38 -5.41%

The history of the last name Burek

The surname BUREK originates from Poland, where it first appeared in the 12th century. The name is derived from the Old Polish word "burek," which means a type of thick, woolen cloak or coat worn by peasants and shepherds. It is believed that the surname was initially given to someone who made or wore such cloaks.

In the earliest records, the name was spelled in various ways, including Burek, Bureck, and Burecki. One of the earliest known mentions of the name can be found in the 1385 Księga Henrykowska, a manuscript containing records of a Cistercian monastery in Lower Silesia.

During the Middle Ages, the name was particularly common in the regions of Silesia, Greater Poland, and Lesser Poland. In the 16th century, a notable bearer of the name was Jan Burek, a Polish nobleman and landowner from the Łomża region.

In the 17th century, the BUREK surname appeared in the Prussian Duchy of Pomerania, where it was associated with the town of Słupsk (German: Stolp). One of the earliest recorded examples from this area is Michał Burek, a merchant and town councilor who lived in Słupsk in the mid-1600s.

Another significant figure in the history of the name was Józef Burek (1810-1889), a Polish writer and journalist who was actively involved in the Polish independence movement. He was born in the village of Kamieniec, near Częstochowa, and was a prolific author of novels, short stories, and political essays.

In the 20th century, one of the most famous bearers of the BUREK surname was Stanisław Burek (1918-2008), a Polish-born American painter and sculptor. He is best known for his abstract expressionist works and was based in New York City for much of his career.

Other notable individuals with the surname BUREK include Marian Burek (1934-2015), a Polish actor and theater director, and Andrzej Burek (born 1953), a Polish-Canadian mathematician and professor at the University of Ottawa.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Burek

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

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 Burek was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 97.11% 1,043
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.65% 7
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.47% 5
Hispanic Origin 1.58% 17

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 Burek has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 97.11% 97.48% -0.38%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.65% 0.58% 11.38%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 0.47% 0.97% -69.44%
Hispanic 1.58% 0.78% 67.80%

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 Burek was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Burek last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on August 25, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/burek-surname-popularity/.

"Burek last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/burek-surname-popularity/. Accessed 25 August, 2025

Burek last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/burek-surname-popularity/.

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.