Explore the Family Name Bak
The meaning of Bak
1. Czech, Slovak, and Hungarian: from the old personal name Bak, which can be a short form of the personal names beginning with Ba-, or a Hungarian name, probably from bak ‘billy goat, he-goat’. It is also a nickname derived from this word, denoting a womanizer, a ladies’ man. 2. Polish: nickname from Old Polish bakać ‘to scold or yell (at someone)’. 3. Polish and Jewish (from Poland) (Bąk): nickname from Polish bąk ‘horse-fly’, ‘bittern’, or ‘eagle-owl’; in the first of these senses probably a nickname for an irritating person. Compare Bonk. 4. Croatian and Slovenian: nickname from Croatian and dialectal Slovenian bak ‘bull’. 5. Dutch: variant of Back 6. 6. Korean: variant of Pak 1. 7. Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 麥, see Mai 1. 8. Chinese: alternative Cantonese form of the surnames 白 and 柏, see Bai 1 and 2. Some characteristic forenames: Polish Bogdan, Jerzy, Jozef, Stanislaw, Andrzej, Dariusz, Dorota, Jacek, Ryszard, Tadeusz, Benedykt, Boguslaw.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Bak in the United States?
Based on the data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname 'Bak' has seen a rise in popularity between 2000 and 2010. The rank of the surname moved from 11,040 to 10,903, indicating a slight increase of 1.24%. The count, denoting the number of people with this surname, also saw an uptick from 2,642 in 2000 to 2,920 in 2010, a rise of 10.52%. The proportion per 100k people increased slightly from 0.98 to 0.99, marking a 1.02% change.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #11,040 | #10,903 | 1.24% |
| Count | 2,642 | 2,920 | 10.52% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.98 | 0.99 | 1.02% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Bak
On the front of ethnicity, based on the Decennial U.S. Census, there's been some notable changes from 2000 to 2010 for the surname 'Bak'. The Asian/Pacific Islander group saw an increase from 16.81% to 19.79%, a positive change of 17.73%. Individuals identifying as belonging to two or more races saw a decline of 36.56%, going down from 2.27% to 1.44%. The percentage of individuals with White ethnicity decreased by 3.10% from 77.86% to 75.45%. Hispanic representation experienced a significant boost of 49.09%, increasing from 1.10% to 1.64%. Black ethnicity representation declined by 11.98% from 1.67% to 1.47%, and American Indian and Alaskan Native representation also dropped by 30.00% from 0.30% to 0.21%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 77.86% | 75.45% | -3.1% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 16.81% | 19.79% | 17.73% |
| Hispanic | 1.1% | 1.64% | 49.09% |
| Black | 1.67% | 1.47% | -11.98% |
| Two or More Races | 2.27% | 1.44% | -36.56% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.3% | 0.21% | -30% |
Bak ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Bak is Eastern European, which comprises 38.5% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are British & Irish (14.2%) and Korean (13.8%). Additional ancestries include French & German, Scandinavian, Ashkenazi Jewish, Indigenous American, and Iranian, Caucasian & Mesopotamian.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| Eastern European | 38.5% |
| British & Irish | 14.2% |
| Korean | 13.8% |
| Other | 33.5% |
Possible origins of the surname Bak
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Bak have recent ancestry locations in Poland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland | 49.40% |
| Masovian Voivodeship, Poland | 46.90% |
| Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Poland | 45.70% |
| Lublin Voivodeship, Poland | 40.70% |
| , | 38.30% |
What Bak haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Bak is O-F2415, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup O-F2415 is descended from haplogroup O-M1359. Other common haplogroups include E-M183 and O-F2859, which are predominantly found among people with European and East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Bak surname are: N, H1, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins O-M1359
Your paternal lineage may be linked to the Cham
One of the many populations harboring members of haplogroup O1b1a1a1a1 is the Cham ethnic group, a group of people who speak Austronesian languages in Mainland Southeast Asia. Austronesian languages make up a language family that is extremely large and widespread, comprising over 350 million people on islands such as Madagascar, Easter Island, and many others. However, Austronesian languages are less common on mainland Asia, with a notable exception being the Chamic language. Research suggests that ancestors of the Cham people migrated from Southeast Asian islands to the mainland around the year 500 BCE, and that early Cham populations quickly began mixing with indigenous southern Vietnamese populations. As a result, the Chamic language now has words that were borrowed from languages spoken by indigenous Vietnamese people. It is likely that an ancestral Kinh population was one of the populations that mixed with the Cham people shortly after their migration to mainland Asia.
Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette
Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.
What do people with the surname Bak have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Bak" Surname 35.7%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Bak" Surname 18.8%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Bak?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Bak are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition