NOVAK
Novak is a surname of Slavic origin, derived from the word nový meaning “new” in several Slavic languages. The name historically functioned as a nickname for individuals who were newcomers to a particular settlement, and it subsequently became a hereditary surname that has been passed through families for many generations.
The surname is widely found across Central and Eastern Europe, notably in the Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovenia, and Poland. All of these countries share Slavic linguistic roots, which account for the prevalence and similarity of the name in their respective traditions.
There are more than forty orthographic variants of the surname, all stemming from the base form Novak. Variants such as Novíč, Nowik, and Noweak appear in Croatia, Poland, and Germany respectively. In some regions the surname acquires a patronymic suffix: the Polish ‑owicz, the Czech ‑cek, or the Romanian ‑escu and ‑esco. These suffixes typically convey the sense “son of” or “belonging to” and, in certain cases, imply a person’s origin from another locality.
While the primary meaning of Novak centres on the idea of a newcomer, a few historical accounts suggest a secondary occupational association. In some instances the name has been linked to shoemaking, possibly through a metaphorical reference to someone who frequently walked.
Scholars cite early recorded examples of the surname in the mid‑seventeenth century. The earliest extant document is a christening witness record dated 24 June 1655, which names Jakub Novak in Semcice, a locality within the historical region of Mlade Bolesław. Subsequent examples include the marriage record of Václav Novak and Marena Fejfarová dated 26 November 1662 in Dasice, a village in the Pardubice region. Another significant instance is the birth of Josepha Nowakowska, daughter of Michal Nowakowski, on 30 April 1793 in Lubień, a town in the Kudauski district of Poland. Further evidence of the surname’s spread appears in the twentieth century, with the birth of Trifus Novaković in 1863 in Bijeljina, a locality in Bosnia‑Herzegovina.
These early records demonstrate the surname’s longevity and geographic dispersion within Slavic-speaking communities. Through systematic inheritance, the name has survived for over four centuries, remaining a common and recognisable identity marker throughout Europe.
Typical given names associated with the Novak surname
Male
- Christopher
- David
- Jaroslav
- John
- Mark
- Martin
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Petr
- Stephen
- Steven
Female
- Angela
- Anna
- Elizabeth
- Jan
- Janice
- Karen
- Laura
- Linda
- Lisa
- Margaret
- Mary
- Michelle
- Sandra
- Zofia
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Novak in...
Braille
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Morse
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Semaphore
There are approximately 851 people named Novak in the UK. That makes it roughly the 8,385th most common surname in Britain. Around 13 in a million people in Britain are named Novak.
Origin: Slavic
Region of origin: Europe
Religion of origin: Christian
Famous people named Novak
- Kayvan Novak - Actor and comedian
- B. J. Novak - American actor, writer and producer
- Kim Novak - American actress
- Lee Novak - Football player
- Peggy Novak - Actress
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.