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

Lemek, 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 Lemek surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lemek in America

Lemek is the 100791st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lemek surname appeared 179 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 Lemek.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lemek 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 Lemek

The surname Lemek originated in Poland during the late medieval period, likely emerging as an occupational name for someone who made or sold lemon-flavored sweets or beverages. It may have derived from the Old Polish word "lemek," meaning "lemon."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Lemek surname appears in a 16th-century document from the town of Krakow, where a merchant named Jan Lemek is listed as selling citrus fruits and lemon-infused drinks to local taverns and inns. This suggests the name had already been well-established in the region by that time.

During the 17th century, the Lemek name began to spread further across Poland, with records showing families bearing the surname in various cities and villages. A notable figure from this era was Tomasz Lemek, a renowned painter born in Warsaw in 1635, who gained recognition for his religious artwork adorning churches throughout the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

As the Lemek name continued to disperse in the following centuries, it also appeared in other parts of Eastern Europe, likely due to migration and intermarriage. In the 1800s, a notable bearer of the surname was Andrzej Lemek, a Polish writer and poet born in 1812 in the city of Lviv (now part of Ukraine), who published several collections of poetry and prose during his lifetime.

Another significant figure was Kazimierz Lemek, a Polish military officer and revolutionary born in 1876 in the town of Tarnów. He played a crucial role in the Polish struggle for independence, participating in the Silesian Uprisings against German forces in the early 20th century.

While the Lemek surname remains relatively uncommon outside of Eastern Europe, it has been carried by individuals of Polish descent across various parts of the world, reflecting the diaspora of Polish communities throughout history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lemek

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

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

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

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