The Novak surname
In the 2000 U.S. Census, 35,282 people carried this name — #899 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 7,650 people counted.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
525 people named Novak live in Switzerland.
They live in 17 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 276 people named Novak.
113 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 38 départements, most often Paris.
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 Poland’s population register
129 people named Novak have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 1,801 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 12 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Lesser Poland.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where 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 Belgium’s population register
At least 67 people named Novak 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 Brussels-Capital.
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 print
Novak in American newspapers,
1897–1957.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 57,445 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Novak,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Josip Novak 1833–1883 · poet -
Josip Novak 1869–1934 · teacher -
Ferdinand Novak 1892–1973 · politician -
Leon Novak 1894–1959 · photographer -
Franc Novak 1908–1999 · physician
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 116 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Novak.
When the index is not enough
This page says where Novak 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.