2000
#130,443
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Tulak
A Bosnian surname potentially derived from the Turkish word "tulak" meaning colt or young horse.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Tulak. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tulak 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
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Tulak in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tulak, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (6.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Tulak
The surname "TULAK" is believed to have originated in the region of Bohemia, which is now part of the Czech Republic, during the late medieval period. It is derived from the Czech word "tulák," which means "wanderer" or "vagabond." This suggests that the name may have initially been given to someone who led a nomadic or itinerant lifestyle.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in a 15th-century document from the town of Litomerice, where a man named Jan Tulak is mentioned as a resident. The name also appears in various church records and tax registers from the 16th and 17th centuries in various parts of Bohemia and Moravia.
In the 18th century, the surname Tulak began to spread beyond the borders of Bohemia and Moravia, with families bearing this name settling in other parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, such as Slovakia and Hungary. One notable figure from this period was Jozef Tulak (1720-1789), a Bohemian-born architect who designed several churches and public buildings in the city of Bratislava, which was then part of the Kingdom of Hungary.
During the 19th century, as immigration to the Americas increased, the Tulak surname began to appear in various parts of North and South America. One of the earliest recorded examples is that of Vaclav Tulak (1825-1902), a Czech immigrant who settled in New York City in the 1850s and worked as a carpenter.
Another notable figure from this period was Josef Tulak (1860-1938), a Czech-born painter and illustrator who spent much of his career in Prague but also exhibited his works in Vienna and Paris. His paintings often depicted scenes of everyday life in rural Bohemia.
In the 20th century, the Tulak surname continued to spread globally, with families bearing this name found in various parts of Europe, North and South America, and even Australia. One notable figure from this period was Karel Tulak (1915-1998), a Czech-born writer and journalist who fled his homeland after the Communist takeover in 1948 and spent much of his life in exile in the United States.
While not exhaustive, these examples provide a glimpse into the rich history and diverse geographical distribution of the surname "TULAK" over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tulak
Among Census respondents with the surname Tulak, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (6.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Tulak 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 Tulak surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.2% · 101
- Hispanic or Latino6.7% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.7% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 2
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tulak
Tulak 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
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-7 bearers (-5.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 15,758 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
+7 bearers (+6.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 4,152 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #130,443 | 120 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-5.8%) | Down 15,758 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+6.2%) | Up 4,152 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 Tulak 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 | #146,201 | #142,049 | 2.8% |
| Count | 113 | 120 | 6.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tulak bearers went from 113 to 120 (+6.2% change). The surname moved up 4,152 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #142,049.
FAQ
Tulak surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tulak?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Tulak. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Tulak?
Tulak ranks #142,049 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 120 people with the surname Tulak. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Tulak.
Has Tulak become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tulak went from 113 recorded bearers to 120. That is an increase of 7 (+6.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #146,201 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Tulak?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tulak, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (6.7%). 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 Tulak in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.2% (101 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tulak appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.2%), Hispanic (6.7%), Asian/Pacific Islander (6.7%). 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 Tulak (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 Tulak mean?
A Bosnian surname potentially derived from the Turkish word "tulak" meaning colt or young horse. 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 Tulak (0.04 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 Tulak?
You can see how many people are called Tulak on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.