Frequency: (897)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
Czech (Hájek): 1. occupational name for a woodman or topographic name for someone who lived by a thicket or grove, from Czech hájek ‘thicket’, from háj ‘grove’, or directly from háj ‘grove’, the diminutive suffix -ek being added in forming the surname. 2. occupational name for a keeper of animals (a herd), especially one who looked after horses (an ostler), from hájit ‘to protect’, ‘to defend’.
GIVEN NAMES: German 4%. Otto (5), Hans (3), Elke, Klaus, Monika.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
Dictionary of American Family Names. Copyright © 2006 Patrick Hanks. All rights reserved.
