The Panek surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,032 people carried this name — #10,572 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 97,100 people counted. That is up 1% from 2,996 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Panek surname
Borrowed from Polish Panek and Czech Pánek.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Panek» (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
11,147 people named Panek have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 12,305 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 Subcarpathian.
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 147 people named Panek.
66 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 21 départements, most often Pas-de-Calais.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
47 people named Panek live in Switzerland.
They live in 5 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Thurgau.
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 the Nordic population registers
31 people named Panek 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
Panek in American newspapers,
1912–1926.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 3,067 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Panek,
with a public archive behind them.
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Józef Panek 1880–1961 · botanist
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Lothar Panek 1884–1966 · entomologist
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Jan Panek 1887–1945
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Bronisław Panek 1892–1963
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Stanisław Panek 1892–1945
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Josef Panek 1895– · writer
Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Panek.
- Panattoni 184 · U.S. census
- Panchot 148 · U.S. census
- Pando 3,065 · U.S. census
- Pandolfi 865 · U.S. census
- Pandolfo 830 · U.S. census
- Pane 1,363 · U.S. census
- Panella 1,920 · U.S. census
- Panetta 1,635 · U.S. census
- Panfili 137 · U.S. census
- Pangallo 522 · U.S. census
- Pani 403 · U.S. census
- Paniagua 10,340 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Panek 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.