Zoulek last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Zoulek

A Germanized form of the Czech surname Zoul, derived from a word meaning "ox herder."

Zoulek, 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 Zoulek surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Zoulek in America

Zoulek is the 99845th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Zoulek surname appeared 181 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 Zoulek.

We can also compare 2010 data for Zoulek 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 99845 94227 5.79%
Count 181 180 0.55%
Proportion per 100k 0.06 0.07 -15.38%

The history of the last name Zoulek

The surname Zoulek is of Czech origin, emerging from the regions historically known as Bohemia and Moravia. The name is believed to have originated during the medieval period, specifically around the 13th to 15th centuries. It is derived from old Czech words and could be associated with the term "zoulat," meaning to turn or roll, which might refer to someone who worked with wheels or performed tasks involving rotation or circular motion.

Old records from this period occasionally document variations of the name, such as Zoul or Zoulek. Manuscripts from the 14th century in the Czech lands have noted the surname, suggesting that it was fairly established by then. The name does not appear in prominent documents like the Domesday Book, given it is of Central European rather than British origin.

One of the earliest references to the surname appears in a 15th-century legal document from Prague, mentioning a Jan Zoulek, a landowner engaged in a property dispute. This provides evidence of the name’s presence among the landed gentry during that period. Another historical figure, Matej Zoulek, born in 1578, served as a municipal official in Brno, reflecting the name’s spread to Moravian regions.

During the 17th century, Joseph Zoulek emerged as a well-known artisan in the city of Plzeň. Born in 1612, he was recognized for his work with metal, particularly in weapon crafting, which was a respected trade during that era. Records from the early 18th century also mention Katerina Zoulekova, an influential midwife in Ostrava, who was born in 1694 and noted for her contributions to local medical practices.

In the late 19th century, Frantisek Zoulek, born in 1853, gained prominence as an academic in Prague. He made significant contributions to the study of Slavic languages and was renowned within intellectual circles of his time. By examining these individuals, one can see the geographical spread and societal roles associated with the surname Zoulek over the centuries.

Throughout its history, the Zoulek surname has been borne by individuals engaged in various professions, from landownership and municipal roles to craftsmanship and academia. The presence of the name in historical records highlights its longstanding roots in Czech culture and its evolution over several centuries. Despite the relatively limited frequency of the name in historical texts, those bearing it have made impactful contributions to their respective fields and communities.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Zoulek

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

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 Zoulek was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 98.34% 178
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.00% 0
Hispanic Origin (S)% (S)

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 Zoulek has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 98.34% 99.44% -1.11%
Black 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Two or More Races 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic (S)% (S)% (S)%

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

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

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Zoulek last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/zoulek-surname-popularity/.

"Zoulek last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/zoulek-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 December, 2024

Zoulek last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/zoulek-surname-popularity/.

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