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

Zayac, 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 Zayac surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Zayac in America

Zayac is the 51610th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Zayac surname appeared 403 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 Zayac.

We can also compare 2010 data for Zayac 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 Zayac

The surname Zayac originates from the Slavic regions of Eastern Europe, predominantly found in countries such as Ukraine, Russia, and Poland. The name Zayac can be traced back to the early medieval period, around the 10th and 11th centuries. It is derived from the Slavic word zajac or zaïats, which means hare or rabbit. In these regions, surnames were often derived from animals, occupations, or characteristics, and the choice of hare implies swiftness, agility, or even cleverness.

In historical records, the name Zayac appears in various forms of Slavic manuscripts. In Ukraine and Russia, it was not uncommon to find variations such as Zajats, Zayats, or Zayets in old church registers, tax records, and legal documents dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries. Parish registers from villages such as those in the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions of Ukraine often recorded individuals with this surname.

One early reference to the surname is found in a 14th-century manuscript from Novgorod, Russia, which mentions a landowner named Ivan Zayats who lived in the region around 1375. This indicates that the surname was not only established but also associated with families of some prominence by that time.

In the 16th century, Poland also saw the appearance of the surname in various forms. Records from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth often mentioned the Zajac family in regions such as Greater Poland and Mazovia. One notable figure from this period is Jakub Zajac, a minor Polish noble who was recorded in 1542 as owning several estates near Poznań.

The name continued to appear throughout the centuries, marking its presence in different regions. In the 18th century, a notable bearer of the surname was Dmytro Zayats, born in 1723, who was a prominent Cossack leader in Ukraine. His contributions to regional uprisings against foreign rule were well-documented in Ukrainian historical accounts.

Moving into the 19th century, another prominent figure was Anna Zayets, born in 1801, a renowned artist and educator in Russia. Her works were exhibited in various art galleries in St. Petersburg, and she played a significant role in the Russian art community during her time.

As a surname with deep roots in Eastern Europe, Zayac and its variations have a rich historical tapestry. The name not only denotes an ancestral connection to the region but also carries connotations of heritage, agility, and nobility imbued by centuries of historical relevance.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Zayac

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

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

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

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