Desatnik last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Desatnik

A Russian surname derived from a military rank equivalent to sergeant.

Desatnik, 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 Desatnik surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Desatnik in America

Desatnik is the 153769th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Desatnik surname appeared 106 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 Desatnik.

We can also compare 2010 data for Desatnik 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 153769 146011 5.18%
Count 106 104 1.90%
Proportion per 100k 0.04 0.04 0.00%

The history of the last name Desatnik

The surname Desatnik has its origins in Eastern Europe, particularly in the regions of modern-day Russia and Ukraine. It emerged during the 16th to 18th centuries and is derived from the Russian word "desyatnik," which referred to a military position or rank akin to a corporal or sergeant in charge of a squad of ten soldiers.

This surname likely originated from individuals who held this military position or were descendants of such individuals. In the Muscovite and later Russian armies, the desyatnik played a crucial role in maintaining discipline and leading small units of soldiers.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Desatnik can be found in the military records of the Streltsy, an elite infantry corps in the service of the Tsars of Russia. These records date back to the late 16th and early 17th centuries, mentioning individuals with the surname Desatnik serving in various regiments and campaigns.

During the 17th century, a prominent individual with the surname Desatnik was Ivan Desatnik, a Cossack leader who participated in the Khmelnytsky Uprising against Polish rule in Ukraine. He was born around 1620 and played a significant role in the early stages of the uprising before being captured and executed by the Polish authorities in 1648.

In the 18th century, a notable figure bearing the surname Desatnik was Grigory Desatnik, a Russian military officer who served in the Imperial Russian Army during the reign of Catherine the Great. He was born in 1745 and participated in several campaigns against the Ottoman Empire, including the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774.

Another individual of note was Fyodor Desatnik, a Russian merchant and landowner who lived in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He hailed from the city of Tambov and was known for his successful trading ventures and philanthropic activities in the region.

In the 19th century, the surname Desatnik can be found in various records and documents from the Russian Empire, including census records, military registers, and land ownership records. One notable bearer of the name during this period was Pavel Desatnik, a Russian writer and journalist born in 1835 in the city of Nizhny Novgorod.

Throughout its history, the surname Desatnik has been associated with military service, land ownership, and various professions in Russia and Ukraine. Its origins reflect the rich military heritage and social structures of Eastern European societies during the 16th to 19th centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Desatnik

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

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 Desatnik was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 90.57% 96
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin 4.72% 5

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 90.57% 91.35% -0.86%
Black 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races (S)% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic 4.72% (S)% (S)%

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

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

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"Desatnik last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on July 5, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/desatnik-surname-popularity/.

"Desatnik last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/desatnik-surname-popularity/. Accessed 5 July, 2025

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

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