2000
#9,878
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,014
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.12
Rare Last name
Prokop
A surname of Slavic origin derived from the given name Prokopius, meaning "one who makes progress or advances."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,213 Americans carry the last name Prokop. That puts it at #10,859 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.94 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 106,677 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Prokop 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Prokop with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.2K
1 in 106,677
Census rank
#10,859
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,802 bearers of the surname Prokop in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.94 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10859th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Prokop, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Prokop
The surname Prokop originates from the Czech Republic and dates back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Slavic given name Prokop, which comes from the Greek name Procopius. This, in turn, is derived from the Greek words "pro" meaning "before" and "kopein" meaning "to toil or work hard".
The name Prokop first appeared in historical records in Bohemia, which is the western part of the modern-day Czech Republic. It was often spelled as Prokup or Prokopius in old manuscripts and documents from the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest known references to the name Prokop comes from a 13th-century chronicle called the Chronica Bohemorum, which mentions a man named Prokop who was a servant of King Wenceslas I of Bohemia (reigned 1230-1253).
In the 14th century, there is a record of a Prokop of Plzen (Pilsen), who was a prominent citizen and landowner in the city of Plzen in western Bohemia. He is mentioned in several legal documents from that period.
Another notable person with the surname Prokop was Jan Prokop (1691-1723), a Czech Catholic priest and philosopher who wrote extensively on topics such as logic and metaphysics.
During the 19th century, the name Prokop became more widespread across the Czech lands. One famous bearer of this surname was Vojtech Prokop (1792-1864), a Czech writer and journalist who founded several literary magazines and played a significant role in the Czech National Revival.
Another well-known figure was the Bohemian-Austrian painter Emanuel Prokop (1800-1870), who was renowned for his landscape paintings and portraits of the Czech nobility.
In the early 20th century, there was a Czech politician named Antonin Prokop (1870-1938), who served as a member of the Austro-Hungarian parliament and later became the first Minister of Railways in the newly formed Czechoslovakia after World War I.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Prokop
Among Census respondents with the surname Prokop, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Prokop 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 Prokop surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.8% · 2,628
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 86
- Two or more races2.1% · 59
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 18
- Black or African American0.3% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Prokop
Prokop 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
#10,620
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,015
+1 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 1.02
Rank movement Down 742 places
2020
#10,859
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,802
-213 bearers (-7.1%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Down 239 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,878 | 3,014 | 1.12 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,620 | 3,015 | 1.02 | +1 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 742 places |
| 2020 | #10,859 | 2,802 | 0.94 | -213 bearers (-7.1%) | Down 239 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 Prokop 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 | #10,620 | #10,859 | -2.3% |
| Count | 3,015 | 2,802 | -7.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.02 | 0.94 | -8.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Prokop bearers went from 3,015 to 2,802 (-7.1% change). The surname moved down 239 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,620 to #10,859.
FAQ
Prokop surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Prokop?
Name Census estimates that about 3,213 living Americans carry the surname Prokop. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 106,677 residents.
How common is Prokop?
Prokop ranks #10,859 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.94 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,802 people with the surname Prokop. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,213), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.94 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.94 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Prokop.
Has Prokop become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Prokop went from 3,015 recorded bearers to 2,802. That is a decrease of 213 (-7.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,620 to #10,859.
What does the Census say about the background of Prokop?
Among Census respondents with the surname Prokop, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Prokop in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.8% (2,628 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Prokop appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.8%), Hispanic (3.1%), Two or More Races (2.1%). 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 Prokop (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 Prokop mean?
A surname of Slavic origin derived from the given name Prokopius, meaning "one who makes progress or advances." 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 Prokop (0.94 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 common is the surname Prokop?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Prokop, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.