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

Janka, 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 Janka surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Janka in America

Janka is the 50106th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Janka surname appeared 418 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 Janka.

We can also compare 2010 data for Janka 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 Janka

The surname Janka is believed to have originated in the Slavic regions of Central Europe, particularly in areas that are now part of Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. It likely emerged during the medieval period, between the 11th and 14th centuries.

One possible derivation of the name Janka is from the Slavic personal name Jan, which is a variant of the Hebrew name John or Johannes. The suffix "-ka" is a common diminutive form in Slavic languages, indicating a familial or affectionate connotation. Thus, Janka may have initially been used as a nickname or diminutive form of the name Jan.

Another theory suggests that Janka could be derived from the Slavic word "janka," meaning a small river or stream. This could indicate that the name may have been associated with individuals who lived near or worked along small waterways.

In terms of historical references, the name Janka has appeared in various records and documents throughout Central Europe. One notable example is the mention of a Janka Czaska in a 15th-century land registry from the town of Krakow, Poland.

The earliest recorded instances of the Janka surname can be traced back to the 16th century. For example, a man named Mikołaj Janka was listed as a resident of the village of Stare Bystre in the Polish region of Lesser Poland in 1563.

One noteworthy figure in history with the surname Janka was Jan Janka, a Czech mathematician and astronomer who lived from 1774 to 1857. He made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics and is credited with developing a method for calculating the orbits of comets.

Another prominent individual with this surname was Karol Janka, a Polish military officer and politician who lived from 1868 to 1929. He played a crucial role in the formation of the Polish Legions during World War I and later served as a member of the Polish parliament.

In the literary world, the name Janka is associated with the 19th-century Slovak writer and poet Janka Kráľová-Želenská, who was born in 1828 and is renowned for her contributions to Slovak romantic poetry and her advocacy for women's rights.

Additionally, the name Janka has been linked to various place names and locations throughout Central Europe. For instance, the village of Jankov in the Czech Republic is believed to have derived its name from the personal name Jan or its diminutive form, Janka.

Throughout the centuries, the surname Janka has been spelled in various ways, including Janca, Jancka, and Jančka, reflecting the linguistic and regional variations within the Slavic regions where the name originated.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Janka

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

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

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

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