2000
#131,366
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Petrek
A surname derived from a diminutive form of the given name Peter.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 114 Americans carry the last name Petrek. That puts it at #156,005 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,006,617 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Petrek surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
114
1 in 3,006,617
Census rank
#156,005
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
99
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 99 bearers of the surname Petrek in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156005th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Petrek, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.1%) and Black (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Petrek
The surname Petrek has its origins in the Slavic regions of Eastern Europe, particularly in modern-day Czech Republic and Slovakia. It is believed to have emerged in the 13th or 14th century, derived from the Slavic personal name Petr or its diminutive form Petrek, which is equivalent to the English name Peter.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Petrek can be found in the Bohemian Land Tables, a collection of legal records from the 14th century Kingdom of Bohemia. These tables mention a certain Wenceslaus Petrek, who lived in the village of Dolní Loučky in the year 1379.
The surname Petrek is also closely linked to various place names in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. For instance, the village of Petřkovice in the Opava District of the Czech Republic is said to have been named after a person called Petrek, who may have been one of the early settlers or landowners in the area.
In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the surname Petrek was Jan Petrek, a Protestant reformer and theologian from the town of Žatec in Bohemia. He was a vocal critic of the Catholic Church and played a significant role in the spread of the Hussite movement in the region.
Another prominent individual with the surname Petrek was Václav Petrek, a Czech painter and illustrator who lived from 1827 to 1891. He is renowned for his illustrations of Czech fairy tales and folklore, which helped preserve and popularize the nation's cultural heritage.
In the 20th century, Jaroslav Petrek (1900-1973) was a respected Czech architect and urban planner. He was heavily involved in the reconstruction efforts after World War II and contributed to the design of several notable buildings and landmarks in Prague and other cities.
While the surname Petrek is primarily associated with the Czech Republic and Slovakia, it has also spread to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora communities. Notably, there have been individuals with this surname in countries like the United States, Canada, and Australia, where they have made contributions in various fields.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Petrek
Among Census respondents with the surname Petrek, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.1%) and Black (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Petrek bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Petrek surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.9% · 89
- Hispanic or Latino8.1% · 8
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
- Two or more races1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Petrek
Petrek appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#151,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-11 bearers (-9.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 20,166 places
2020
#156,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 99
-9 bearers (-8.3%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 4,473 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #131,366 | 119 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #151,532 | 108 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-9.2%) | Down 20,166 places |
| 2020 | #156,005 | 99 | 0.03 | -9 bearers (-8.3%) | Down 4,473 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Petrek surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #151,532 | #156,005 | -3.0% |
| Count | 108 | 99 | -8.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -17.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Petrek bearers went from 108 to 99 (-8.3% change). The surname moved down 4,473 positions in the national ranking, going from #151,532 to #156,005.
FAQ
Petrek surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Petrek?
Name Census estimates that about 114 living Americans carry the surname Petrek. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,006,617 residents.
How common is Petrek?
Petrek ranks #156,005 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 99 people with the surname Petrek. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (114), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Petrek.
Has Petrek become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Petrek went from 108 recorded bearers to 99. That is a decrease of 9 (-8.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #151,532 to #156,005.
What does the Census say about the background of Petrek?
Among Census respondents with the surname Petrek, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.1%) and Black (1.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Petrek in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.9% (89 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Petrek appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.9%), Hispanic (8.1%), Black (1.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Petrek (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Petrek mean?
A surname derived from a diminutive form of the given name Peter. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Petrek (0.03 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Petrek?
See how many Americans have the surname Petrek on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.