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

Check, 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 Check surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Check in America

Check is the 12229th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Check surname appeared 2,545 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Check.

We can also compare 2010 data for Check 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 Check

The surname Check originated in the region of modern-day Czechia, formerly known as Bohemia, around the 11th century. It is derived from the Old Czech word "Čech," which referred to the Czech people or someone from the Czech lands. The name likely emerged as a way to distinguish individuals from the Czech territories during a time of increased migration and travel.

One of the earliest known references to the surname Check can be found in the Chronica Boëmorum, a 12th-century chronicle written by Cosmas of Prague. This text mentions individuals with the name Čech, indicating its usage as a surname or byname during that era.

In the 13th century, the surname Check appeared in various records, including the Codex Diplomaticus et Epistolaris Regni Bohemiae, a collection of historical documents from the Kingdom of Bohemia. One notable example is Jan Čech, a wealthy merchant and landowner who lived in Prague during the reign of King Ottokar II (1253-1278).

As the Czech people migrated and settled in other regions, the surname Check underwent spelling variations to adapt to local languages and dialects. In Germany, for instance, it was often spelled as Tschech or Tscheche, while in Poland, it appeared as Czek or Czek.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Check outside of Bohemia can be found in the 14th-century Prussian State Records, which mention a knight named Petrus Czekus (Peter Check) serving under the Teutonic Order in the region of modern-day Poland.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Check, including:

1. Jan Čech (1360-1426), a Czech philosopher and rector of the University of Prague during the Hussite Reformation.
2. Ludvík Čech (1516-1584), a Bohemian nobleman and military commander who fought in the Schmalkaldic War.
3. Václav Čech (1741-1810), a Czech mathematician and astronomer known for his contributions to the study of comets.
4. Jaroslav Čech (1846-1915), a Czech architect and designer responsible for several notable buildings in Prague.
5. Eduard Čech (1893-1960), a renowned Czech mathematician and a pioneer in the field of topology.

These examples illustrate the long-standing presence and significance of the surname Check, which has its roots in the rich cultural heritage of the Czech lands and has been carried by individuals across various professions and historical periods.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Check

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

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

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

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