Explore the Family Name Herek

The meaning of Herek

1. Americanized form of Polish Cherek. 2. Croatian: from a pet form of the personal name Herman. 3. Croatian: nickname from a derivative of herav ‘slanted, crooked’. 4. Turkish: probably a nickname from herek ‘pole used to support vines, e.g. beans’, figuratively ‘ugly and tall man’. Alternatively, it may be an ornamental name or nickname from a regional homonym meaning ‘small-tailed curly-fleeced sheep’.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Herek in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Herek experienced a slight decrease in popularity from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, it ranked as the 62,775th most common surname and declined by 5.4% to rank 66,164th in 2010. Despite the drop in rank, the actual count of people with the surname Herek increased marginally from 298 to 299 during the same period. However, the proportion per 100,000 people decreased by 9.09%, indicating that while the absolute count increased, the relative frequency of the surname dropped.

20002010Change
Rank#62,775#66,164-5.4%
Count2982990.34%
Proportion per 100k0.110.1-9.09%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Herek

Turning to the ethnic identity associated with the surname Herek, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows a minor shift between 2000 and 2010. The majority of individuals with this surname identified as White, although there was a slight decrease from 93.96% in 2000 to 90.30% in 2010. Conversely, the percentage identifying as Hispanic increased significantly from 4.03% to 7.02%. There were no changes noted for those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, Two or more races, Black, or American Indian and Alaskan Native. The data marked with "(S)" was suppressed for privacy reasons.

20002010Change
White93.96%90.3%-3.9%
Hispanic4.03%7.02%74.19%
Asian/Pacific Islander0%0%0%
Two or More Races0%0%0%
Black0%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%