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

Liska, 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 Liska surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Liska in America

Liska is the 11697th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Liska surname appeared 2,679 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 Liska.

We can also compare 2010 data for Liska 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 Liska

The surname Liska has its roots in the Slavic regions of Central and Eastern Europe, specifically in the areas that are now modern-day Poland, Czech Republic, and Slovakia. The name can be traced back to the 13th century and is believed to be derived from the Slavic word "liska," which means "fox" in English.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Liska can be found in the 14th-century Moravian Land Tables, which were medieval records of land ownership and transactions in the region of Moravia (now part of the Czech Republic). The name appears in various spellings, such as "Lyska" and "Liszka," reflecting the regional variations in language and orthography.

In the 16th century, the name Liska appears in the Metryka Koronna, a collection of royal records from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This suggests that the name had spread to the territories of modern-day Poland and Lithuania by that time.

One notable individual bearing the surname Liska was Jan Liska (1650-1712), a Czech Catholic priest and philosopher who taught at the University of Prague. He was known for his contributions to the field of logic and his writings on the philosophy of Aristotle.

Another significant figure was Wenceslaus Liska (1682-1749), a Czech Jesuit missionary who travelled to South America and worked among the indigenous populations of what is now Paraguay and Argentina. He is credited with establishing several Jesuit missions and contributing to the preservation of indigenous languages and cultures.

In the 19th century, the name Liska appeared in the records of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, particularly in the regions of Galicia (now part of Poland and Ukraine) and Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic). One notable individual from this period was Ludwik Liska (1822-1891), a Polish painter and illustrator known for his portraits and historical scenes.

As the Slavic populations migrated and settled in various parts of the world, the surname Liska spread to other countries. For instance, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there were individuals with the surname Liska recorded in the United States, likely descendants of immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe.

Throughout its history, the surname Liska has been associated with various professions and occupations, from clergy and academics to artists and artisans, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and contributions of those who have borne this name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Liska

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

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

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

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