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

Durniak, 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 Durniak surname is from the 2000 census data.

Popularity of Durniak in America

Durniak is the 147095th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Durniak surname appeared 103 times in the 2000 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Durniak.

The history of the last name Durniak

The surname Durniak originates from Central and Eastern Europe, with the most significant roots traced back to regions that are now part of Poland and Ukraine. The time period of its origin can be roughly placed around the Middle Ages, where surnames began to be used more widely for identification purposes. The areas originally associated with the name Durniak include rural villages and smaller towns in Lesser Poland and Western Ukraine.

The name Durniak likely derives from old Slavic words. The term durny in Polish translates to foolish or simpleton, but surnames often took on broader meanings linked to occupations, personal characteristics, or geographical features. The addition of the suffix -iak is common in Eastern European surnames, typically indicating a patronymic origin or belonging to a particular place or family. Similar surnames include Durnik or Durnio, found in old records and herald indications.

There are few early historical references to the surname Durniak, largely because only more significant families were documented in detail. Nonetheless, one early record mentions Stanislav Durniak, a minor nobleman appearing in a 16th-century tax registry in Kraków. This indicates the surname was in use as far back as the 1500s. Local records from the Lwów archives also mention the Durniak family in the 17th century, specifically Jan Durniak, who was noted for his involvement in regional trade.

The earliest recorded examples of the surname Durniak include Ivan Durniak from the 1600s, who was a resident of a now-forgotten village in what was then the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Another notable individual is Petro Durniak, documented as a landowner in Halychyna in the early 1700s. These individuals provide valuable insight into the surname's spread through Ukraine and Poland during this period.

Place names associated with the surname are less common, though some small hamlets in rural Poland and Ukraine may bear a similar linguistic root. Variants of the name, such as Durników or Durniok, can be found in Polish historical manuscripts from the 18th century.

Famous people with the surname include Mikołaj Durniak, an 18th-century Polish military officer who served during the Bar Confederation around 1768-1772. Another prominent figure is Andrii Durniak, an influential figure in the 19th-century Ukrainian national revival movement, born in 1812 and died in 1888. More recently, Jarosław Durniak, born in 1921 and died in 1985, was a notable Polish historian known for his work on medieval Slavic traditions. Furthermore, Irina Durniak, a celebrated Ukrainian poet whose works garnered attention in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, was born in 1879 and died in 1943. Kazimierz Durniak, born in 1940 and still remembered today, made significant contributions to Polish literature in the 20th century. These individuals highlight the various roles that bearers of the Durniak name have played throughout history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Durniak

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

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 2000 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Durniak 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.

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Durniak, 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!