2000
#140,756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Chechak
A surname of Polish origin likely derived from the Old Polish word 'czechac', meaning to scratch or stroke.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Chechak. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Chechak 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
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Chechak in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Chechak, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.8%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Chechak
The surname CHECHAK originated in the Slavic region of Eastern Europe, particularly in the areas of present-day Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus. It is derived from the Slavic root word "chech," which means "Czech" or "Bohemian," indicating a connection to the Czech or Bohemian people.
The earliest recorded instances of the name CHECHAK can be traced back to the 16th century, when it appeared in various historical records and documents from the region. One notable mention is found in the 1567 census records of the town of Lviv, in present-day Ukraine, where a family by the name of Chechak is listed among the residents.
In the late 17th century, a prominent figure named Ivan Chechak (1648-1718) was a renowned scholar and theologian who served as the rector of the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, a prestigious educational institution in the Ukrainian lands at that time.
During the 18th century, the name CHECHAK gained recognition in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, where it was associated with a noble family from the Podolia region (now part of Ukraine). One member of this family, Jan Chechak (1722-1794), was a respected military officer who fought in several campaigns against the Ottoman Empire.
Moving into the 19th century, the CHECHAK surname can be found in various historical documents from the Russian Empire, particularly in the areas of present-day Belarus and western Russia. Notably, a writer and philosopher named Vasily Chechak (1804-1876) made significant contributions to the development of Belarusian literature and cultural identity during this period.
Another notable figure was Josip Chechak (1876-1947), a Croatian architect and urban planner who played a crucial role in the development of modern Zagreb's urban landscape in the early 20th century.
Throughout its history, the surname CHECHAK has also been associated with various place names and locations in the Slavic regions, such as the village of Chechaki in the Lublin Voivodeship of eastern Poland, and the town of Chechakovo in the Bryansk Oblast of western Russia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chechak
Among Census respondents with the surname Chechak, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.8%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Chechak 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 Chechak surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.4% · 93
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.8% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 3
- Two or more races2.9% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Chechak
Chechak 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
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+12 bearers (+11.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,452 places
2020
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-17 bearers (-14.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 15,286 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #140,756 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | +12 bearers (+11.0%) | Up 2,452 places |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | -17 bearers (-14.0%) | Down 15,286 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 Chechak 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 | #138,304 | #153,590 | -11.1% |
| Count | 121 | 104 | -14.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Chechak bearers went from 121 to 104 (-14.0% change). The surname moved down 15,286 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #153,590.
FAQ
Chechak surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Chechak?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Chechak. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Chechak?
Chechak ranks #153,590 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 104 people with the surname Chechak. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Chechak.
Has Chechak become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Chechak went from 121 recorded bearers to 104. That is a decrease of 17 (-14.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Chechak?
Among Census respondents with the surname Chechak, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.8%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Chechak in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.4% (93 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Chechak appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.4%), Asian/Pacific Islander (4.8%), Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Chechak (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 Chechak mean?
A surname of Polish origin likely derived from the Old Polish word 'czechac', meaning to scratch or stroke. 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 Chechak (0.03 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 Chechak?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Chechak at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.