Explore the Family Name Wolak

The meaning of Wolak

Polish: patronymic from a short form of a personal name, such as Wolimir, based on the Slavic element vol ‘to want’ (from Old Slavic voliti, Polish woleć). Some characteristic forenames: Polish Ludwik, Andrzej, Casimir, Genowefa, Janusz, Jaroslaw, Kazimierz, Krzysztof, Piotr, Teofil.

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

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

According to data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Wolak shifted slightly between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Wolak ranked as the 16,283rd most popular surname in the United States. By 2010, it had dropped slightly to the 17,040th spot, representing a decrease of 4.65%. Despite this dip in rank, the number of people bearing the surname Wolak actually increased from 1,629 in 2000 to 1,667 in 2010 - a growth of 2.33%. However, when measured per 100,000 people, the proportion decreased by 5%, going from 0.6 in 2000 to 0.57 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#16,283	#17,040	-4.65%
Count	1,629	1,667	2.33%
Proportion per 100k	0.6	0.57	-5%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Wolak

Data from the Decennial U.S. Census also reveals interesting shifts in the ethnic identity associated with the surname Wolak. Between 2000 and 2010, those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander and of two or more races increased by about 45.95% and 50.00% respectively. The percentage identifying as White decreased slightly by 2.77%, changing from 97.30% to 94.60% over that decade. Hispanic representation doubled, up 100% from 1.23% to 2.46%. Meanwhile, those identifying as Black and American Indian and Alaskan Native were not represented in 2000 but appeared in 2010 at 0.54% and 0.48% respectively.

	2000	2010	Change
White	97.3%	94.6%	-2.77%
Hispanic	1.23%	2.46%	100%
Two or More Races	0.92%	1.38%	50%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.37%	0.54%	45.95%
Black	0%	0.54%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0.48%	0%