Dvořák
A Czech surname meaning roughly “from the courtyard” or “man of the yard.”
The #4,562 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 39,730 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Dvořák is a Czech surname built from the word dvořák, related to dvůr, meaning a court, yard, or estate. The name originally referred to someone connected with a court or farmstead, often understood as a tenant farmer, estate worker, or person living by a manor-yard. The surname is most famously associated with the Czech composer Antonín Dvořák.
History
The name is strongly associated with Czech-speaking lands and later spread widely through emigration to the United States and elsewhere. In English-language sources it often appears without the diacritic as Dvorak. Its international visibility was greatly increased by the fame of Antonín Dvořák.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because English usually drops the háček, many people know the surname as Dvorak even when the original Czech spelling is Dvořák.
From the historical record
“Studies in Modern Music. First Series. Berlioz, Schumann, Wagner. With an Essay on Music and Musical Criticism. With Five Portraits. Crown 8vo, 73. 6d. Studies in Modern Music. Second Series. Chopin, Dvorak, Brahms, With an Essay on Musical Form. With F«ur Portraits. Crown 8vo, 75. 6d. HAMERTON, Mrs. Philip Gilbert…”
— Family Names and their Story