The Zurek surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 1,442 people carried this name — #18,928 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 204,100 people counted. That is down 2% from 1,465 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Zurek surname
From Polish Żurek, Czech Žůrek, Slovak Žúrek and Slovak or Czech Žurek.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Zurek» (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
11,934 people named Zurek have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 13,196 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 Lesser Poland.
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 122 people named Zurek.
30 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 17 départements, most often Nord.
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 Argentina’s national register
At least 89 people named Zurek 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 Córdoba.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where 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
20 people named Zurek live in Switzerland.
They live in 4 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Geneva.
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
27 people named Zurek 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).
Who carried it
People named Zurek,
with a public archive behind them.
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Maryan Žurek 1899–1943 · painter
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Teresa Román Vélez 1925–2021 · writer
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Peter Zurek 1943–2013 · journalist
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Richard William Zurek 1947– · researcher
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Patrick Zurek 1948– · Catholic priest
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Petr Žůrek 1951– · mining engineer
Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Zurek.
- Zumbo 371 · U.S. census
- Zumstein 404 · U.S. census
- Zundel 1,069 · U.S. census
- Zunino 459 · U.S. census
- Zurawski 1,503 · U.S. census
- Zurcher 1,343 · U.S. census
- Zurfluh 433 · U.S. census
- Zurita 4,770 · U.S. census
- Zurlinden 142 · U.S. census
- Zwahlen 469 · U.S. census
- Zwick 2,273 · U.S. census
- Zwickel 140 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Zurek 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.