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

Olenik, 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 Olenik surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Olenik in America

Olenik is the 42030th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Olenik surname appeared 517 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 Olenik.

We can also compare 2010 data for Olenik 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 Olenik

The surname Olenik is believed to have originated in Poland, with its earliest recorded examples dating back to the 16th century. The name is thought to be derived from the Polish word "olenka," which means "small deer" or "fawn." This suggests that the name may have initially been a nickname or descriptive name for someone who possessed certain physical or personality traits associated with a deer, such as gracefulness or shyness.

In historical records, the name Olenik has been found in various forms, including Olenik, Olennick, and Olenyk. These variations likely emerged due to regional differences in pronunciation and spelling conventions. The name's Polish roots are further solidified by its presence in areas with significant Polish populations, such as the Galicia region (now part of Ukraine) and the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Olenik can be found in the Metryka Koronna, a collection of official documents from the Polish Crown Chancery, dating back to the 16th century. This record mentions an individual named Jan Olenik, who held a position in the court of King Sigismund II Augustus.

In the 17th century, the name Olenik appears in the records of the town of Bielsko-Biała, located in southern Poland. These records document the presence of several families bearing the Olenik surname, suggesting that the name had already established itself as a distinct lineage in the region.

Notable individuals with the surname Olenik throughout history include Józef Olenik (1798-1865), a Polish painter and professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, and Michał Olenik (1843-1918), a Polish politician and member of the Galician Diet, a regional parliament in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

In the 20th century, Stanisław Olenik (1904-1986) was a Polish engineer and inventor who made significant contributions to the development of radar technology during World War II. Another individual of note is Andrzej Olenik (1944-2021), a Polish architect and urban planner whose works have had a lasting impact on the landscape of several Polish cities.

Lastly, Jerzy Olenik (born 1958) is a contemporary Polish writer and journalist who has published several novels and collections of short stories, earning him recognition within the Polish literary community.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Olenik

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

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

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

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