Find out how popular the last name Chernik is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Chernik.
A surname derived from the Russian word for "black", possibly referring to dark hair color or complexion.
Chernik, 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 Chernik surname is from the 2010 census data.
Chernik is the 106570th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Chernik surname appeared 167 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 Chernik.
We can also compare 2010 data for Chernik 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 | 106570 | 121780 | -13.32% |
| Count | 167 | 131 | 24.16% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.06 | 0.05 | 18.18% |
The surname Chernik has its origins in Poland, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is derived from the Slavic word "chern," meaning "black" or "dark," and may have initially been used as a descriptive surname for someone with a dark complexion or hair color.
One of the earliest known references to the name Chernik can be found in the records of the town of Bydgoszcz, where a merchant named Jakub Chernik was documented in 1568. In the late 16th century, the name also appeared in church records from the village of Kościelec, near the city of Poznań.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Chernik surname spread throughout various regions of Poland, with pockets of concentration in the areas around Warsaw, Lublin, and Kraków. It is likely that some families with this name migrated to other parts of Europe and beyond during this time period.
One notable individual bearing the Chernik surname was Jan Chernik, a Polish military officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. Born in 1783 in the village of Grodzisk Mazowiecki, he achieved the rank of Colonel in the Polish Legion and was awarded the Virtuti Militari, Poland's highest military decoration, for his bravery in battle.
Another figure of historical significance was Tomasz Chernik, a Polish painter and artist who lived in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Born in 1759 in the town of Sandomierz, he is known for his religious paintings and frescoes adorning several churches in the region.
In the 19th century, the Chernik surname was also found in the records of the Russian Empire, particularly in the territories of modern-day Belarus and Ukraine. One notable individual from this era was Mikhail Chernik, a Russian-born writer and journalist who lived from 1828 to 1892.
As the name spread and evolved over time, various spelling variations emerged, such as Czerniak, Czernicki, and Czernik. Additionally, some families may have adopted the name Chernik as a result of migration or assimilation from other Slavic regions.
We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Chernik.
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:
For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Chernik was:
| Race/Ethnicity | Percentage | Total Occurrences |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Hispanic White Only | 99.40% | 166 |
| Non-Hispanic Black Only | (S)% | (S) |
| Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only | 0.00% | 0 |
| Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.00% | 0 |
| Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races | 0.00% | 0 |
| Hispanic Origin | (S)% | (S) |
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 Chernik has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.
| 2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 99.40% | 96.18% | 3.29% |
| Black | (S)% | (S)% | (S)% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Two or More Races | 0.00% | (S)% | (S)% |
| Hispanic | (S)% | 0.00% | (S)% |
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 Chernik was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.
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