The Polak surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,313 people carried this name — #9,780 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 89,300 people counted. That is up 10% from 3,002 in 2000.
In Poland’s population register
19,422 people named Polak have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 21,281 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 Silesian.
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 Argentina’s national register
At least 447 people named Polak 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 France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 251 people named Polak.
109 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 36 départements, most often Paris.
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
120 people named Polak live in Switzerland.
They live in 13 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 74 people named Polak 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 Antwerp.
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
81 people named Polak 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
Polak in American newspapers,
1915–1923.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 30,662 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Polak,
with a public archive behind them.
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Estanislao Polono d. 1514 · printer -
Jan Polak d. 1428
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Piotr Polak d. 1440
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Benedict of Poland 1200–1280 · translator
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Anzelm Polak 1450–1520 · preacher
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Jacob Pollak 1460–1541 · rabbi
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Polak.
- Poissant 653 · U.S. census
- Poisson 1,822 · U.S. census
- Poitier 526 · U.S. census
- Pokorski 492 · U.S. census
- Pol 1,312 · U.S. census
- Polack 643 · U.S. census
- Polard 118 · U.S. census
- Polat 123 · U.S. census
- Poles 483 · U.S. census
- Polese 188 · U.S. census
- Polette 120 · U.S. census
- Poletti 673 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Polak 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.