Stanek
A Slavic surname most often formed as a pet or diminutive of a personal name such as Stanisław or Stanislav.
The #6,727 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 61,577 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Stanek is a Slavic surname built from the old given-name element Stan-, found in names such as Stanisław and Stanislav. The ending -ek is a common diminutive or affectionate form in Polish and Czech, so the name likely began as "little Stan" or "son of Stan" in a loose sense. In practice, it would have been used for someone identified by a father's name or by a familiar short form of a longer personal name.
History
The surname is especially common in Polish and Czech naming traditions and appears in immigrant communities in the United States. As with many Slavic surnames, it likely arose independently in more than one place from the same given-name base. English-speaking record keepers often preserved the spelling Stanek, though pronunciation may vary slightly by family and country of origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The -ek ending is one reason this surname often feels like a nickname: in Slavic languages, that ending commonly makes a name sound smaller, younger, or more familiar.