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

Josafat, 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 Josafat surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Josafat in America

Josafat is the 128249th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Josafat surname appeared 133 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 Josafat.

We can also compare 2010 data for Josafat 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 Josafat

The surname JOSAFAT is believed to have originated in Eastern Europe, particularly in regions of modern-day Poland and Ukraine. It is derived from the given name Josaphat, which in turn traces its roots back to the ancient Hebrew name Yoseph (Joseph) combined with the element "Phat" meaning "Jehovah increases."

During the Middle Ages, the name Josaphat gained widespread recognition due to its association with the legend of St. Josaphat, a Christian saint whose story was popularized in the medieval narrative "Barlaam and Josaphat." This tale, which drew inspiration from the life of the Buddha, influenced the adoption of the name across various European regions.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname JOSAFAT can be found in the Galician-Volhynian Chronicle, a 13th-century manuscript that documented the history of the Galician-Volhynian Principality, located in modern-day western Ukraine and eastern Poland. The chronicle mentions a nobleman named Josafat who held lands in the region during the 12th century.

In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the surname JOSAFAT was Josaphat Kuntsevych (1580-1623), a Ukrainian archeparch of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church who was martyred for his efforts to promote the Union of Brest. He was canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church in 1867.

Another prominent individual with the surname JOSAFAT was Josaphat Miaskowski (1599-1646), a Polish Baroque poet and nobleman known for his religious poetry and involvement in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth's political affairs.

During the 17th century, the JOSAFAT surname appeared in various records throughout Eastern Europe, including church registers and land ownership documents. For instance, a certain Josafat Ilnicki was mentioned in a 1639 census of the town of Lutsk, located in modern-day Ukraine.

In the 18th century, the JOSAFAT surname gained recognition through the figure of Josaphat Kowalczyk (1738-1808), a Polish Catholic priest and founder of the Congregation of the Immaculate Conception, a religious order dedicated to education and charitable work.

As the surname spread across different regions, variations in spelling and pronunciation emerged, such as Josaphat, Jozafat, and Josefat, reflecting local linguistic influences and traditions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Josafat

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

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

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