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

Gorniak, 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 Gorniak surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gorniak in America

Gorniak is the 41579th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gorniak surname appeared 523 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 Gorniak.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gorniak 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 Gorniak

The surname Gorniak is of Polish origin and can be traced back to the late 16th century. It is derived from the Polish word "górnik," which means "miner" or "mountaineer." The name likely originated in the mountainous regions of southern Poland, where mining and metalworking were prevalent industries.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Gorniak surname can be found in the Metryka Koronna, a collection of official records maintained by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from the 15th to the 18th century. In this collection, a certain Jan Gorniak was mentioned as a miner from the town of Olkusz in the year 1592.

During the 17th century, the Gorniak name appeared in various parish records and tax registers across the regions of Lesser Poland and Silesia. This suggests that the name had spread beyond its original mining communities and was being adopted by families in other occupations as well.

In the 19th century, a notable bearer of the Gorniak surname was Franciszek Gorniak (1801-1867), a Polish writer and poet who was part of the Polish Romantic movement. His works often explored themes of national identity and the struggles of the Polish people under foreign rule.

Another significant figure was Józef Gorniak (1875-1939), a Polish engineer and industrialist who played a key role in the development of the Silesian coal mining industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was a prominent member of the Polish community in Silesia and advocated for Polish rights in the region.

In the early 20th century, the Gorniak name gained some recognition in the field of sports. Władysław Gorniak (1903-1986) was a Polish boxer who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, where he won a bronze medal in the lightweight division.

During World War II, a notable bearer of the Gorniak surname was Stanisław Gorniak (1912-1942), a Polish soldier and member of the Armia Krajowa (Polish Home Army). He was executed by the German occupying forces for his involvement in the Polish resistance movement.

Throughout its history, the Gorniak surname has been associated with various professions and walks of life, but its roots can be traced back to the mining communities of southern Poland in the late 16th century. The name continues to be widely recognized as a Polish surname to this day.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gorniak

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

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

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

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