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

Hajek, 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 Hajek surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hajek in America

Hajek is the 14172nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hajek surname appeared 2,119 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 Hajek.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hajek 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 Hajek

The surname Hajek originates from the Czech Republic, with roots dating back to the 14th century. It is derived from the Czech word "hajek," which means a small forest or grove. This suggests that the name may have initially been used to refer to someone who lived near or worked in a small wooded area.

In the early records, the name appeared with various spellings, such as Hayek, Haik, and Haieck. These variations were common due to the inconsistencies in record-keeping and spelling during that time period. One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in a land registry from the town of Kolin in 1387, where a person named Jan Hajek is mentioned as a landowner.

The Hajek surname gained prominence in the 16th century, particularly in the region of Bohemia, which was part of the Holy Roman Empire. During this time, several notable individuals bearing the name emerged, including Tadeáš Hajek (1525-1600), a renowned Czech humanist, writer, and translator. His works played a significant role in the development of the Czech language and literature.

Another notable figure was Václav Hajek (1564-1631), a Czech historian and author best known for his work "Kronika česká" (The Bohemian Chronicle), a comprehensive account of the history of Bohemia and Moravia. This influential work was widely read and helped shape the understanding of Czech history during the 17th century.

In the 18th century, the Hajek surname spread further across the Czech lands, and several place names emerged that incorporated the name. For instance, the village of Hajek near the town of Beroun was first mentioned in records dating back to 1789. This suggests that the name may have been associated with specific locations or settlements where families with this surname resided.

One of the most prominent figures with the Hajek surname in modern times was Eduard Hajek (1903-1990), a Czech physicist and inventor. He is best known for his contributions to the development of television technology, particularly his work on the cathode ray tube and the invention of the super-iconoscope, an important component in early television cameras.

Other notable individuals with the Hajek surname include František Hajek (1886-1962), a Czech architect known for his Art Nouveau and Cubist-style buildings in Prague; Miloš Hajek (1951-), a Czech-born Canadian artist and illustrator renowned for his surrealist and dreamlike artworks; and Jindřich Hajek (1915-1990), a Czech politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Czechoslovakia from 1984 to 1988.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hajek

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

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

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