Novak

Novak (in Serbian, Croatian and Slovene; Cyrillic: Новак), Novák (in Hungarian, Czech and Slovak), Nowak or Novack (in German and Polish) is a surname and masculine given name, derived from the slavic word for "new" (e.g. Polish: nowy, Czech: nový, Serbo-Croatian: nov / нов), which depending on the exact language and usage, translates as "novice", "new man", "newcomer", or "stranger".

For other uses, see Novak (disambiguation).

It seems to originate, at least by common occurrence, in the province of Upper Silesia, when Germanic stock moved into the upper Oder river region, the slavs referred to the "new men" as "Nowaks".[1] Another theory is that "new man" refers to a person who has converted to Christianity or to a new arrival in a city. It was also used for newcomers to an army and as an occupational surname for people who used the slash-and-burn method to create new arable land—novina.[2] It is pronounced almost the same way in most languages, with the stress on the first syllable. The main exception is Slovene, which places the stress on the last syllable.

It is the most common surname in the Czech Republic,[3][4] Poland,[5] and Slovenia,[6] and the sixth most common in Croatia. It is also found in Romania and Moldova in the Novac form and among Ashkenazi Jews in various forms depending on their country of origin.[7]

Spelling

The surname is usually spelled Novák in Czech, Slovak, and Hungarian, Nowak in Polish and German, Novak (Cyrillic: Новак) in Serbo-Croatian, Slovene, Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian, and Novac in Romanian.

In specific countries

Poland

As of 2009, Nowak (Polish pronunciation: [ˈnɔvak]) is the most common surname in Poland, having surpassed Kowalski.[5] Its plural is Nowakowie ([nɔvaˈkɔvjɛ]). Nowak is used by both male and female individuals. The archaic feminine version is Nowakowa ([nɔvaˈkɔva]). Related surnames include Nowakowski (feminine: Nowakowska; plural: Nowakowscy), Nowacki (feminine: Nowacka; plural: Nowaccy), Nowakowicz (gender-neutral), and Nowakiewicz (gender-neutral).

Nowak is the most common surname in nine voivodeships (administrative units) of Poland, and second in another. It is ranked first in Greater Poland Voivodeship (35,011), Silesian Voivodeship (31,838), Lesser Poland Voivodeship (23,671), Łódź Voivodeship (15,460), Lower Silesian Voivodeship (13,217), West Pomeranian Voivodeship (7,444), Opole Voivodeship (5,538), Lubusz Voivodeship (5,444), and Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (5,538), and second in Subcarpathian Voivodeship (9,301).

There are two noble families of Polish origin with the surname Nowak:

  • One family appeared in Silesia in the 15th century. It included Anatol Nowak (died 1456), Archbishop of Wrocław. A branch of this family became barons in Bohemia in 1660.
  • One family appeared in Masovia around 1750. This family included Antoni and Józef Nowak, generals in the Polish army that served Napoleon, and Aleksander Nowak, a general of the Polish forces during the November Uprising in 1831 against Russia.

Czech Republic and Slovakia

Novák is widespread in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In both countries, the feminine form is Nováková. It is the most common surname in the Czech Republic.[3][4]

Slovenia

Novak is the most common surname in Slovenia with more than 11,000 sharing it.[6] There are however significant variations between regions: it is very common in central Slovenia (in the regions around Ljubljana and Celje), as well as in parts of southern Slovenia and eastern Slovenia (Lower Carniola, Prekmurje). It is much less common in northern and western Slovenia; in the Goriška region on the border with Italy, it is quite rare. The rank of the surname Novak in the Slovenian statistical regions: 1st in the Central Slovenia Statistical Region (3,422) and Savinja Statistical Region (1,380); 2nd in the Southeast Slovenia Statistical Region (1,231) and Mura Statistical Region (1,040); 3rd in the Drava Statistical Region (1,732); 5th in the Upper Carniola Statistical Region (963) and Lower Sava Statistical Region (380); 6th in the Coastal–Karst Statistical Region (228); 8th in the Central Sava Statistical Region (192); 10th in the Carinthia Statistical Region (238); 11th in the Inner Carniola–Karst Statistical Region (228); 131st in the Gorizia Statistical Region (171).

Other countries

In Croatia, Novak is the sixth most common surname.[8]

In Serbia and Montenegro, Novak is a given name, while Novaković is found as a common surname.

In Germany, Nowak is 159th (c. 31,000) and Noack is 270th (c. 22,000), together with different spellings (c. 64,000), with some concentration in the Ruhr area, around Salzgitter and Lüchow-Dannenberg and as Noack in Lusatia.

People

Novak and Novák surname

A–J

K–Z

Novakov surname

Nováková surname

Nowak surname

Novak given name

Characters
  • Allie Novak, character from the Australian drama series Wentworth
  • Arpad Novack, from Illatszertár (Parfumerie), the Hungarian play used as inspiration for The Shop Around the Corner
  • Barbara Novak, in the movie Down with Love played by Renée Zellweger
  • Billy Novak, in the Amazon television series The Collection
  • Bobby Novak, from the American television series Pearson
  • Casey Novak, in Law & Order: SVU
  • Dazzle Novak, in the television series Moonbeam City
  • Georg Nowack, a character from the musical She Loves Me inspired by The Shop Around the Corner
  • Holland and Dewey Novak, characters in the television series Eureka Seven
  • James Novak, a character on the television series Scandal
  • Jessica Novak, eponymous character of American drama television series
  • Jimmy Novak, his wife Amelia and his daughter Claire Novak, from the television series Supernatural
  • John Novak, protagonist of the television show Mr. Novak
  • Klara Novak, a character on The Shop Around the Corner, played by Margaret Sullavan
  • Lindsey Novak, recurring character in the Stargate Atlantis television series
  • Pat Novak, in The Novak Element in the movie RoboCop
  • Pat Novak, played by Jack Webb in the old-time radio program Pat Novak, for Hire
  • Sydney Novak, played by Sophia Lillis in the Netflix series I Am Not Okay With This
  • Tom Nowak, in the movie Test pilota Pirxa
  • Tommy Nowak, in the movie Pink Cadillac, played by Clint Eastwood
  • Trishka Novak, character in the 2011 video game Bulletstorm
  • Zig Novak, character on television series Degrassi
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See also
  • Nováček
  • Novaci (disambiguation)
  • Noak (disambiguation)

References
  1. "Re: Origin of Nowak - Genealogy.com". www.genealogy.com. Retrieved 2020-01-16.
  2. Izvori priimkov. Imenoslovec prof. Pavle Merku. Mladina.si.
  3. "Mužská příjmení - občané ČR a cizí státní příslušníci - 20 nejčetnějších". Archived from the original on 2015-11-17. Retrieved 2015-11-16.
  4. "Ženská přijmení - občanky ČR a cizí státní příslušnice - 20 nejčetnějších". Archived from the original on 2012-03-19. Retrieved 2015-11-16.
  5. Statystyka najpopularniejszych nazwisk występujących w Polsce in 2009 Archived 2013-09-28 at the Wayback Machine ("The most popular surnames in Poland in 2009"). Retrieved August 19, 2013.
  6. "Database of first names and family names". Demography and Social Studies. Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia. 1 January 2010. Archived from the original on 13 November 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  7. Laurence Urdang. The Last Word: The English Language: Opinions and Prejudices. OmniData. 2008. p. 228.
  8. "Most frequent surnames, Census 2011". Census of Population, Households and Dwellings 2011. Zagreb: Croatian Bureau of Statistics. December 2012. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
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