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

Shimek, 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 Shimek surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Shimek in America

Shimek is the 20937th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Shimek surname appeared 1,258 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 Shimek.

We can also compare 2010 data for Shimek 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 Shimek

The surname Shimek is believed to have originated in the Czech Republic during the 13th century. It is derived from the Old Czech word "šimek," which means "one who squints" or "one with a squint." This suggests that the name was initially given as a descriptive nickname to someone who had a distinguishing physical feature, such as squinting eyes.

The earliest known records of the Shimek surname can be traced back to the village of Šimeček, located in the present-day Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. This village likely took its name from an individual named Šimek, who may have been one of the first to carry the surname.

In the 15th century, the Shimek surname appeared in several historical documents in the Czech lands, including land registry records and parish records. One notable individual from this time was Jan Shimek, a prominent landowner and farmer who lived in the village of Šimeček in the late 1400s.

As the Shimek family spread throughout the Czech Republic and neighboring regions, the surname evolved into various spellings, such as Šimek, Schimek, and Schymek. This was common during the Middle Ages when standardized spellings were not yet established.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Shimek surname outside of the Czech lands can be found in the Austrian Empire during the 17th century. Josef Shimek, born in 1645, was a skilled craftsman and woodcarver who relocated from Bohemia to Vienna, where he became renowned for his intricate wooden sculptures.

In the 19th century, the Shimek surname gained prominence with the birth of Frantisek Shimek (1834-1909), a renowned Czech botanist and naturalist. He made significant contributions to the study of plant life in the Midwestern United States and was recognized for his extensive research on the flora of Iowa.

Another notable individual with the Shimek surname was Bohumil Shimek (1859-1925), a Czech-American geologist and paleontologist. He conducted extensive research on the glacial geology of Iowa and played a crucial role in mapping the state's geological formations.

Other individuals of note bearing the Shimek surname include Jaroslav Shimek (1892-1957), a Czech painter and illustrator known for his landscape paintings and book illustrations, and Miroslav Shimek (1926-2003), a prolific Czech writer and journalist who published over 50 books and numerous articles during his career.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Shimek

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

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

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

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