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

Panek, 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 Panek surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Panek in America

Panek is the 10572nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Panek surname appeared 3,032 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 Panek.

We can also compare 2010 data for Panek 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 Panek

The surname Panek is of Polish origin and can be traced back to the 14th century. It is derived from the Polish word "pan," which means "lord" or "master." This suggests that the name was originally given to someone who held a position of authority or was considered a respected member of the community.

The Panek name was primarily concentrated in the regions of Mazovia, Greater Poland, and Silesia, which were part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at the time. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in historical documents from these areas, such as parish records and land registries.

One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Panek was Jan Panek, a Polish nobleman and landowner who lived in the late 15th century. He was mentioned in several legal documents from the town of Płock, where he owned substantial property.

In the 16th century, the Panek name appeared in the Metryka Koronna, an important collection of official documents from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. One notable entry is Marcin Panek, a prominent merchant and burgher from the city of Kraków, who was born around 1520.

Another famous bearer of the Panek surname was Stanisław Panek, a Polish theologian and philosopher who lived from 1510 to 1589. He was a professor at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków and was known for his contributions to the field of logic and moral philosophy.

During the 17th century, the Panek name was found in various town and village records throughout Poland. One notable example is Andrzej Panek, a landowner and farmer from the village of Wola Rzędzińska, near Tarnów. He was mentioned in a land dispute document dated 1624.

In the 18th century, the Panek surname spread to other parts of Europe as Polish migrants and settlers moved to different regions. For example, there are records of Panek families living in the Silesian region of Prussia (now part of Germany) during this time.

Throughout history, the Panek name has been spelled in various ways, including Paniek, Paneck, and Paneik, reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions. However, the core meaning and origin of the name have remained consistent, tracing back to its Polish roots.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Panek

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

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

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

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