- Source: Novak
Novak (in Serbo-Croatian and Slovene; Cyrillic: Новак), Novák (in Hungarian, Czech and Slovak), or Nowak (in Polish), is a surname and masculine given name, derived from the Slavic word for "new" (e.g. Polish: nowy, Czech: nový, Serbo-Croatian: nov / нов), which depending on the exact language and usage, translates as "novice", "new man", "newcomer", or "stranger".
It is pronounced almost the same way in most languages, with the stress on the first syllable. The main exceptions are Slovene, which places the stress on the last syllable and Hungarian, which stresses the "á".
It is the most common surname in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovenia, and the sixth most common in Croatia. It is also found in Romania and Moldova, in the Novac form, and among Ashkenazi Jews in various forms depending on their country of origin.
Spelling
The surname is usually spelled Novak (Cyrillic: Новак) in Serbo-Croatian, Slovene, Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian, Novák in Czech, Slovak, and Hungarian and Nowak in Polish and German.
In specific countries
= Poland
=As of 2009, Nowak (Polish pronunciation: [ˈnɔvak]) is the most common surname in Poland, having surpassed Kowalski. Its plural is Nowakowie ([nɔvaˈkɔvjɛ]). Nowak is used by both male and female individuals. The archaic feminine version is Nowakowa ([nɔvaˈkɔva]). Related surnames include Nowakowski (feminine: Nowakowska; plural: Nowakowscy), Nowacki (feminine: Nowacka; plural: Nowaccy), Nowakowicz (gender-neutral), and Nowakiewicz (gender-neutral).
Nowak is the most common surname in nine voivodeships (administrative units) of Poland, and second in another. It is ranked first in Greater Poland Voivodeship (35,011), Silesian Voivodeship (31,838), Lesser Poland Voivodeship (23,671), Łódź Voivodeship (15,460), Lower Silesian Voivodeship (13,217), West Pomeranian Voivodeship (7,444), Opole Voivodeship (5,538), Lubusz Voivodeship (5,444), and Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (5,538), and second in Subcarpathian Voivodeship (9,301).
There are two noble families of Polish origin with the surname Nowak:
One family appeared in Silesia in the 15th century. It included Anatol Nowak (died 1456), Archbishop of Wrocław. A branch of this family became barons in Bohemia in 1660.
One family appeared in Masovia around 1750. This family included Antoni and Józef Nowak, generals in the Polish army that served Napoleon, and Aleksander Nowak, a general of the Polish forces during the November Uprising in 1831 against Russia.
= Czech Republic and Slovakia
=Novák is widespread in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In both countries, the feminine form is Nováková. It is the most common surname in the Czech Republic.
= Slovenia
=Novak is the most common surname in Slovenia with more than 11,000 sharing it. There are however significant variations between regions: it is very common in central Slovenia (in the regions around Ljubljana and Celje), as well as in parts of southern Slovenia and eastern Slovenia (Lower Carniola, Prekmurje). It is much less common in northern and western Slovenia; in the Goriška region on the border with Italy, it is quite rare. The rank of the surname Novak in the Slovenian statistical regions: 1st in the Central Slovenia Statistical Region (3,422) and Savinja Statistical Region (1,380); 2nd in the Southeast Slovenia Statistical Region (1,231) and Mura Statistical Region (1,040); 3rd in the Drava Statistical Region (1,732); 5th in the Upper Carniola Statistical Region (963)
and Lower Sava Statistical Region (380); 6th in the Coastal–Karst Statistical Region (228); 8th in the Central Sava Statistical Region (192); 10th in the Carinthia Statistical Region (238); 11th in the Inner Carniola–Karst Statistical Region (228); 131st in the Gorizia Statistical Region (171).
= Other countries
=In Croatia, Novak is the sixth most common surname.
In Serbia and Montenegro, Novak is a given name, while Novaković is found as a common surname.
In Germany, Nowak is 159th (c. 31,000) and Noack is 270th (c. 22,000), together with different spellings (c. 64,000), with some concentration in the Ruhr area, around Salzgitter and Lüchow-Dannenberg and as Noack in Lusatia.
People
= Novak and Novák surname
=A–J
Alexander Novak (born 1971), Russian politician
Anatole Novak (1937–2022), French bicycle racer
Andriy Novak (born 1988), Ukrainian footballer
Anthony Novak (born 1994), Canadian soccer player
Anthony Novak, plaintiff in Novak v. City of Parma
Arne Novák (1880–1939), Czech literary historian and critic
Augustin Novák, a World War I flying ace
B. J. Novak (born 1979), American writer, comedian and actor known for The Office
Barbara Novak (born 1922), American art historian
Brandon Novak (born 1978), American skateboarder
Brett Novak, an American filmmaker and director
Dalma Novak, Australian electrical engineer
David Novak (disambiguation), several persons
Dennis Novak (born 1993), Austrian tennis player
Dezső Novák (1939–2014), Hungarian footballer
Doug Novak, women's basketball coach for Mississippi State
Dragutin Novak (1892–1978), Croatian aviator
Džoni Novak (born 1969), Slovenian former footballer
Emil Novák, Czech snowboarder
Éva Novák-Gerard (1930–2005), Hungarian swimmer
Evelin Novak (born 1965), Croatian operatic soprano
Ewa Nowak (born 1966), Polish writer
Ferenc Novák (born 1969), Hungarian canoer and Olympic champion
Filip Novák (born 1982), Czech professional ice hockey defenceman
Franz Novak (1913–1983), Austrian SS-Hauptsturmführer
Gabi Novak (born 1936), Croatian pop singer
Gary Novak (born 1969), American session drummer
Grga Novak (1888–1978), Croatian historian, archaeologist and geographer
Grigory Novak (1919–1980), Ukrainian Olympic weightlifter
Ilona Novák (1925–2019), Hungarian swimmer and Olympic champion
Ján Novák (1921–1984), Czech composer
Ján Novák (born 1985), Slovak footballer
Ján Novák (born 1979), Czech professional ice hockey player
Jane Novak (1896–1990), actress in silent films
Jeff Novak (born 1967), former American footballer
Jim Novak (1955–2018), American comic book letterer
Jiří Novák (born 1975), Czech former tennis player
Joe Novak (born 1945), retired college football coach
John Novak (born 1955), actor
John Philip Novak (born 1946), American politician
Jorge Novak (1928–2001), Argentine bishop
Joseph D. Novak (born 1930), American educator
K–Z
Karel Novák, Czech slalom canoeist
Katalin Novák, former Hungarian president
Kate Novak, American fantasy writer
Kayvan Novak (born 1978), British-Iranian actor
Kevin Novak (born 1982), American soccer player
Kim Novak (born 1933), American actress
Krysia Nowak (born 1948), British artist
Ladislav Novák (1931–2011), Czech football player and manager
Laila Novak (born 1942), Swedish model and actress
Ljudmila Novak (born 1959), Slovenian politician and Member of the European Parliament
Martin Novák, Czech ice hockey player
Marzenka Novak (1945–2011), Argentine actress
Matěj Novák (born 1989), Czech figure skater
Mel Novak (born 1942), American actor
Michael Novak (1933–2017), conservative American Roman Catholic philosopher and diplomat
Michael Novak (footballer), Austrian footballer
Mike Novak (1915–1978), American National Basketball League player
Mirjam Novak (born 1981), German actress and screenwriter
Miroslav Novák (1907–2000), Czech Hussite bishop
Nick Novak (born 1981), National Football League placekicker
Otto Novák (1902–1984), Czech footballer
Petr Novák (disambiguation)
Robert Novak (1931–2009), American journalist and conservative political commentator
Rudolph Novak, American gymnast
Slobodan Novak (1924–2016), Croatian writer
Slobodan Prosperov Novak (born 1951), Croatian literary historian
Štefan Novák (1879–1932), Greek Catholic Bishop of the Eparchy of Prešov
Steve Novak (born 1983), basketball player
Tom Novak, marketing professor
Tommy Novak (born 1997), American Ice Hockey Player
Viktor Novak (1889–1977), Yugoslav historian
Vilmos Aba-Novák (1894–1941), Hungarian painter and graphic artist
Vítězslav Novák (1870–1949), Czech composer
Viveca Novak, American journalist
Vjenceslav Novak (1859–1905), Croatian writer
Vladimír Novák (painter) (born 1947), Czech painter
Vladimír Novák (skier) (1904–1986), Czechoslovak Nordic skier
Zbyněk Novák (born 1983), Czech ice hockey player
= Novakov surname
=Andrey Novakov (born 1988), Bulgarian politician
Anna Novakov, Serbian-American art historian and curator
Anton Novakov, Bessarabian industrialist and politician
Boncho Novakov (born 1935), Bulgarian cyclist
Tihomir Novakov (1929–2015), Serbian-born American physicist
= Nováková surname
=Daniela Trandžíková-Nováková (born 1956), Slovak handball player
Eva Nováková (born 1938), Czech politician
Ivana Nováková (born 1965), Czech basketball player
Kristýna Badinková Nováková (born 1983), Czech film and television actress
Petra Nováková (born 1993), Czech skier
Soňa Nováková (born 1975), Czech female beach volleyball player
Šárka Nováková (born 1971), Czech high jumper
Teréza Nováková (1853–1912), Czech feminist author, editor, and ethnographer
Vratislava Nováková, Czechoslovak slalom canoer
= Nowak surname
=Amram Nowak, Academy Award–nominated director of Isaac in America: A Journey with Isaac Bashevis Singer
Anton Nowak (1865–1932), Austrian artist
Bartosz Nowak, Polish footballer
Cécile Nowak (born 1967), French judoka
Henry J. Nowak (1935–2024), member of United States House of Representatives (1975–1993)
Jan Nowak-Jeziorański (1914–2005), Polish journalist and World War II hero
Jerzy Nowak, Polish actor
Jerzy Robert Nowak, Polish historian
Józef Nowak (1925–1984), Polish actor
Julian Nowak (1865–1946), Polish physician, veterinarian, bacteriologist, and politician
Katarzyna Nowak, Polish tennis player
Kazimierz Nowak (1897–1937), Polish traveler
Leopold Nowak (1904–1991), Austrian musicologist
Lisa Nowak (born 1963), American astronaut
Łukasz Nowak (born 1988), Polish athlete
Marco Nowak, German ice hockey player
Mark Nowak (born 1964), American poet and writer
Manfred Nowak (born 1950), United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture
Martin Nowak (born 1965), Austrian mathematical biologist
Mateusz Nowak, Polish cyclist
Oskar Nowak (1913–1989), Austrian ice hockey player
Piotr Nowak (born 1964), Polish footballer and manager
Sylwia Nowak, Polish ice dancer
Tadeusz Nowak, Polish footballer
Teresa Nowak (born 1942), Polish athlete
Tim Nowak, German decathlete
Wanda Nowak (1913–?), Austrian athlete
Zdzisław Nowak (1906–1996), Polish athlete
Zenon Nowak (1905–1980), Polish trade union activist and politician
= Novak given name
=Novak Djokovic (born 1987), Serbian tennis player
Starina Novak (1530–1601), Serbian brigand and rebel
Novak Grebostrek (fl. 1312), Serbian commander
Novak Karaljuk (fl. 1404), Serbian commander
Novak Kilibarda (1934–2023), Montenegrin politician
Novak Martinović (born 1985), Serbian footballer
Novak Novak (1928–1995), Serbian writer and journalist
Novak Radonić (1826–1890), Serbian painter
Novak Roganović (1932–2008), Serbian footballer
Novak Tomić (1936–2003), Serbian footballer
Characters
Allie Novak, character from the Australian drama series Wentworth
Arpad Novack, from Illatszertár (Parfumerie), the Hungarian play used as inspiration for The Shop Around the Corner
Barbara Novak, in the movie Down with Love played by Renée Zellweger
Billy Novak, in the Amazon television series The Collection
Bobby Novak, from the American television series Pearson
Casey Novak, in Law & Order: SVU
Dazzle Novak, in the television series Moonbeam City
Georg Nowack, a character from the musical She Loves Me inspired by The Shop Around the Corner
Holland and Dewey Novak, characters in the television series Eureka Seven
James Novak, a character on the television series Scandal
Jessica Novak, eponymous character of American drama television series
Jimmy Novak, his wife Amelia and his daughter Claire Novak, from the television series Supernatural
John Novak, protagonist of the television show Mr. Novak
Klara Novak, a character on The Shop Around the Corner, played by Margaret Sullavan
Lindsey Novak, recurring character in the Stargate Atlantis television series
Oscar Novak, main character of the romantic comedy film Three To Tango.
Pat Novak, in The Novak Element in the movie RoboCop
Pat Novak, played by Jack Webb in the old-time radio program Pat Novak, for Hire
Sydney Novak, played by Sophia Lillis in the Netflix series I Am Not Okay With This
Tom Nowak, in the movie Test pilota Pirxa
Tommy Nowak, in the movie Pink Cadillac, played by Clint Eastwood
Trishka Novak, character in the 2011 video game Bulletstorm
Zig Novak, character on television series Degrassi
See also
All pages with titles containing Novak
All pages with titles containing Nowak
Nováček
Noak (disambiguation)
References
Kata Kunci Pencarian:
- Novak Đoković
- Helga M. Novak
- Jane Novak
- Kim Novak
- Eva Novak
- Katalin Novák
- Michael Novak
- Donald Trump
- B. J. Novak
- Előd Novák
- Novak Djokovic
- Novak
- B. J. Novak
- Kim Novak
- Kayvan Novak
- Brandon Novak
- William Novak
- Vítězslav Novák
- Thomas Novak
- Jiří Novák
