The Bak surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 2,920 people carried this name — #10,903 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 101,000 people counted. That is up 11% from 2,642 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Bak surname
From Korean 박 (bak, “朴”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Bak» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Poland’s population register
32,965 people named Bak have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 36,157 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in all 16 of Poland’s voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 405 people named Bak.
152 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 36 départements, most often Pas-de-Calais.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 162 people named Bak live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
92 people named Bak live in Switzerland.
They live in 8 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 59 people named Bak live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Hainaut.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
145 people named Bak is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
In print
Bak in American newspapers,
1883–1954.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 422,770 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Bak,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Yitzchak Bak 1896–1974 · painter -
Børge Bak 1912–1990 · physicist -
Samuel Bak 1933– · engraver -
Imre Bak 1939–2022 · painter -
István Bak 1943–2013 · politician
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 83 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Bak.
When the index is not enough
This page says where Bak is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.