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

Slovak, 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 Slovak surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Slovak in America

Slovak is the 26549th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Slovak surname appeared 918 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 Slovak.

We can also compare 2010 data for Slovak 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 Slovak

The surname Slovak is derived from the Slavic ethnic group that inhabits parts of Central and Eastern Europe, particularly in the region that is now known as Slovakia. The name likely originated in the 9th century AD when the Slavic tribes settled in the area around the Carpathian Mountains.

The root of the word "Slovak" can be traced back to the proto-Slavic word "slovo," which means "word" or "speech." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who was skilled in communication or storytelling. Alternatively, it could have been used to identify someone who belonged to the Slavic tribe or spoke the Slavic language.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Slovak can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus et Epistolaris Regni Bohemiae, a collection of medieval documents from the Kingdom of Bohemia, which included the region of Slovakia. This document, dated around the 13th century, mentions individuals with the surname Slovak or variations of it, such as Slovacus or Slawak.

In the 14th century, the surname Slovak appeared in various records and documents across Central Europe, including the Urbarium of the Cistercian Monastery in Velehrad, which listed several Slovak families living in the surrounding villages.

Notable individuals with the surname Slovak throughout history include:

1. Jan Slovak (c. 1480-1552), a Czech humanist scholar and author who wrote extensively on education and philosophy.
2. Michal Slovak (1572-1626), a Slovakian Catholic priest and historian who documented the history of the Slovak people in his work "De Sacra Antiquitate."
3. Juraj Slovak (1786-1843), a Slovak poet and writer who played a significant role in the Slovak national revival movement.
4. Jozef Miloslav Slovak (1853-1920), a Slovak politician and lawyer who served as the first prime minister of the Czechoslovak Republic.
5. Andrej Slovak (1911-1992), a Slovak sculptor and artist known for his monumental public works and religious sculptures.

The surname Slovak has also been associated with various place names throughout Central and Eastern Europe, particularly in regions with significant Slavic populations. For example, the village of Slovakovo in western Ukraine and the town of Slovakian in northern Romania both derive their names from the Slovak ethnic group.

While the surname Slovak has its roots in the Slavic tribes of Central Europe, it has since spread across the globe as a result of migration and cultural exchange. However, its origins can be traced back to the historical regions of present-day Slovakia and the surrounding areas, where it emerged as a distinct ethnic identifier centuries ago.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Slovak

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

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

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

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