Explore the Family Name Nowack

The meaning of Nowack

Germanized or Americanized form of Polish and Sorbian Nowak 1, Czech and Slovak Novák, and Slovenian, Croatian, Serbian, Ukrainian, and Rusyn Novak, all generally meaning ‘newcomer’. Compare Noack. Some characteristic forenames: German Gerhard, Lorenz.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Nowack experienced a decrease between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Nowack ranked 21,553 in the U.S., but by 2010, it had dropped to rank 24,288, showing a 12.69% decline. The number of individuals bearing the last name also declined from 1,129 in 2000 to 1,033 in 2010, marking an 8.5% decrease. The proportion per 100,000 people also fell by 16.67%, from 0.42 in 2000 to 0.35 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#21,553	#24,288	-12.69%
Count	1,129	1,033	-8.5%
Proportion per 100k	0.42	0.35	-16.67%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Nowack

The ethnic identity associated with the surname Nowack varied slightly over the same decade, as per the Decennial U.S. Census data. The overwhelming majority identified as White, albeit with a slight dip from 95.75% in 2000 to 95.26% in 2010. The percentage of those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander increased from 1.24% to 1.65%, an uptick of 33.06%. Those claiming a mixed ethnicity (two or more races) rose dramatically by 81.25%, jumping from 0.80% in 2000 to 1.45% in 2010. However, the Hispanic representation within this surname saw a decrease of 16.56%, from 1.51% to 1.26%. There was no recorded change for Black or American Indian and Alaskan Native ethnicities, remaining at 0% for both years.

	2000	2010	Change
White	95.75%	95.26%	-0.51%
Asian/Pacific Islander	1.24%	1.65%	33.06%
Two or More Races	0.8%	1.45%	81.25%
Hispanic	1.51%	1.26%	-16.56%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%