Top 140 Czech Last Names or Surnames

Children inherit their fathers’ names in many cultures. While the sons retain their fathers’ names, the daughters, upon marrying, take on their husbands’ names. In the Czech culture, however, women change the spelling of the surname to give it a feminine touch. That’s why most surnames belonging to women in the Czech Republic have the suffix ‘ova’ or ‘a’, instead of ‘y’. For example, the surname Novotny becomes Novotna, or Novak becomes Novakova. Isn’t it interesting? Read on for some more interesting Czech last names and common Czech last names.

Popular Czech Surnames or Family Names

The most common Czech last names have Czech, Slovak and German origins. Here’s a list of 140 Czech family names in alphabetical order:

1. Adamcik

It is derived from the name Adam, which is a Hebrew term for a man.

2. Ambroz

It comes from the term “Ambrosios” meaning immortal. It has Slovenian and Czech origins.

3. Anderle

It is derived from the German “Andreas“, which means courageous.

4. Apel

Apel is derived from the North German and Dutch “Albrecht” meaning noble and famous.

5. Bartos

Derived from the diminutive of Bartolomej, its origin is Hungarian, Slovak and Czech. It means “rich in land”.

6. Benes

Derived from Benedikt, meaning “blessed”, this name was made popular by the famous basketball player Ivan Benes.

7. Blaha

This surname means “good” and is a short form of the names Blahoslav, Blazej.

8. Bobal

It has a Slavic origin, and means “broad bean”.

9. Cermak

It has Slovak and Czech origins and means an English songbird “redstart”.

10. Chalupa

This is a status surname given to the person owning a cottage. The term denotes a free cottage with some land around it.

11. Cipra

This last name means inhabitant from Cyprus and is taken from “Cipriano”.

12. Ctvrtnik

This surname is given to people owning a quarter of land.

13. Dana

It comes from the personal name “Daniel”, meaning God is the judge. Its origin is unknown, but it is considered to be a Huguenot name.

14. Dec

This surname is an ethnic name for German “Deutsch”.

15. Doubek

It has a Czech/Slovak origin and means a person of strength from a place named Doubek.

16. Dvorak

It is one of the most common Czech last names; it means the one who owned a manor.

17. Ermis

The surname is derived from the name Jeremias or possibly from German name Emmerich. It means “Exalted of the God”.

18. Fara

The name comes from the name Farnacius. It means “a priest’s house”.

19. Fiala

The surname was often given to the person staying where violets grew as the word “fiala” means “violet” in Czech.

20. Folta

The last name is derived from Valentin. It has Czech and polish origins, and it means “generous” or “kind”.

21. Fort

It is a variant of Forst, meaning someone staying near a stronghold.

22. France

Comes from a personal name Franc and is given to those coming from Franconia. The word means free or generous.

23. Fischer

It has a German origin, and it means “fisher”.

24. Gaba

This is a diminutive form of Gabriel, which, in Hebrew, means ‘God of strength’.

25. Galuska

The surname has Moravian and Slovak origins. It means a person who has a facial mark.

26. Gavenda

The word has a Czech origin. It means “chatterbox” or “talkative”.

27. Hajek

The word “Hajek” means “thick”. It’s a name for someone who lives by a grove.

28. Hajny

The surname is an occupational name for a woodman.

29. Horak

The word means a person from the hills and, is derived from the Czech word “hora” meaning “hills”.

30. Hlavac

Derived from the Czech word “hlava” meaning “head”, the name means a clever one.

31. Huba

This last name means a person with a sharp tongue.

32. Hrabik

This surname is used for a farmer or a gardener.

33. Hudek

The is an occupational name for a fiddler.

34. Hutnik

The surname has Czech, Polish and Jewish origins. It is an occupational name for a smelter.

35. Hykes

Derived from the personal name Hugh, which was introduced by the Normans to the British, the surname means bright in spirit.

36. Holub

The word has Czech, Ukrainian, Belorussian and Jewish origins. It means “pigeon” or “dove”.

37. Hornik

It means miner and is an occupational name.

38. Hruska

The name is derived from the word “Hruska pear” and it means “seller of pears”.

39. Hrabe

The surname has a Czech origin, and it means “count”.

40. Jach

Jach and its variant Jacka are surnames of Polish and Czech origin. It means “son of James”.

41. Janda

Derived from the Hebrew language, Janda means “God is gracious”.

42. Jezek

The surname has Czech and Slovenian origins. It means “hedgehog”. The name is used as a nickname for an unapproachable person.

43. Kadlec

Of Czech origin, this surname is an occupational name for a weaver.

44. Klas

This Czech word means “cereal plant ear”. It is a diminutive of Nicholas.

45. Klier

Comes from the German word “Kliebert”, which is an occupational name for a woodsman.

46. Kopecky

It is a toponymic name for people living by the hills.

47. Lanik

Comes from the Moravian “Lanik”, which means “wealthy farmer”.

48. Láska

The name means “love” in Czech and Slovak.

49. Lisa

Derived from the Hebrew language, it means “consecrated to God”.

50. Luka

Of Latin origin, this surname refers to “Light”.

51. Maly

A Slavic surname, which is often used as a nickname, it means “a small man”.

52. Marek

Of Latin origin, this surname means “to be warlike”.

53. Martinek

Comes from a pet name Martin, which means “of Mars” or “of Warlike”.

54. Mira

The name means “peace” or “quiet”.

55. Nekola

Of Czech origin, the name is a combination of “be”, meaning “not” and “kola” meaning “instability”. The name means “stable”.

56. Neuzil

The name is a combination os “ne“, meaning “not” and “uzil“, meaning “generous“. It is often used as a nickname for a miser.

57. Novak

The name has Slovak, Czech, Croatian, Serbian and Hungarian origins. It means someone new to the place.

58. Novotny

This Czech surname also means “a newcomer”.

59. Opat

This surname is an occupational name for someone in the service of an abbot.

60. Orel

This habitational name refers to someone who lived in a house differentiated with an eagle sign.

61. Orsak

This surname is of Czech origin. It may have been derived from Dornák, an equivalent of Dorothy which means “God’s Gift”.

62. Otradovec

This habitational name is for a person from any four places in Bohemia.

63. Pesek

Comes from the first name Peter, which means “stone”.

64. Polak

Of German origin, the surname means “a person coming from Poland” or “a pole”.

65. Prazak

It is a surname for someone from Prague.

66. Puskar

Of Slovak origin, it is an occupational surname for a rifle maker.

67. Repasky

Of Slovak origin, the habitational surname is given to someone from an unknown place named with “repa“, which means “turnip”.

68. Reznik

Of Slavic origin, this is an occupational surname for a butcher.

69. Riha

The surname means “brick layer” or “to reproach”.

70. Romanik

A name coming from the word “Roman“, it means someone coming from Rome.

71. Rokusek

Of Czech origin, the surname is a longer form of Rokus, meaning “reed”.

72. Rus

Of Slavic origin, the name is for a person coming from Russia.

73. Ryba

Ryba is a name of Eastern European origin and means “fish” or “fisherman” in Polish.

74. Ruzicka

The surname means a beautiful little rose.

75. Sedlacek

The surname is a status name derived from Sedlak, which means “a farmer owning a smaller piece of land”.

76. Sik

This surname is derived from the German word “Schick“, which means “skilful”.

77. Slavik

Slavik means “nightingale”, or “a good singer”.

78. Svoboda

Of Czech origin, the surname means “freedom”.

79. Tabor

It is a habitational name for someone coming from Tabor in Bohemia.

80. Tesar

Of Slovak origin, it is the occupational name for a carpenter.

81. Tichy

Of Slovak origin, the word means “calm or quiet person”.

82. Trcka

This surname has a Slovak origin. It means “to run”.

83. Uchytil

The surname is a nickname for a tenacious man.

84. Uher

The surname is an ethnic name for a Hungarian. It means an individual who has business relations with Hungary.

85. Urbanovsky

The surname is a habitational surname from a place called Urbanovice.

86. Urbach

Derived from the Urban, the name means ‘from the city’.

87. Vancura

Of Czech origin, a name is a derivative form of the name Vecesalav, which means “big glory”.

88. Vesely

The surname is of Slovak and Czech origin meaning “cheerful” or “merry”.

89. Vlcek

Vlk means “little wolf”. It is a diminutive of Vlcek, and also refers to a quick person.

90. Vlak

It’s a nickname derived from “vlach“, which means “foreigner”.

91. Volin

The surname is a  habitational surname for someone from Volyne.

92. Volner

The surname is an occupational surname for a wool worker.

93. Votava

Of Czech origin, the word is a topographic name for someone who lived near a field yielding two crops in a year.

94. Vrba

It is a topographical name for someone living near willow trees.

95. Wacha

Of Slavic origin, comes from word “vacek”, which means “greater glory”.

96. Zacek

The surname means “student”.

97. Zajic

This surname is given to a quick runner.

98. Zelenka

The surname comes from the word “zeleny” which means “green”.

99. Zeman

This surname is commonly used for a yeoman or a farmer.

100. Zima

Of Slavic origin, the surname means “winter”.

Unique Czech Surnames

Having unique names and surnames gives your character and personality a boost. Here are some unique Czech surnames that you can consider for your little one:

1. Beran

This surname represents a male sheep.

2. Cech

The surname simply means ‘Czech’.

3. Cervenka

The surname is of Czech origin and means ‘robin’.

4. Chvatal

The surname means ‘to hurry’.

5. Cizek

The surname means ‘siskin’.

6. Hlavacek

The surname is derived from a Polish word meaning ‘head’.

7. Horacek

The surname means ‘mountain man’.

8. Hruby

It is a Czech and Slovak surname meaning ‘crude’.

9. Jelen

The name translates to ‘deer’.

10. Kalas

The surname is an ethnic name. 

11. Kolar

The surname means ‘wheeler’.

12. Kovarik

It is an occupational surname for a smith. 

13. Kratochvil

The surname represents an idle pleasure seeker.

14. Kraus

The name is derived from an Upper German word and means ‘curly’.

15. Krejci

The surname means ‘tailor’.

16. Kysely

The surname means ‘sour’.

17. Matejka

The surname translates to ‘Matthews’ or ‘son of Matthew’.

18. Musil

The surname translates to ‘must’.

19. Navratil

The surname means ‘to return’.

20. Nemec

The surname is of Slavic or German origin and means ‘mute, foreigner’.

21. Nosek

It is a west Slavic name which means ‘nose’.

22. Skala

The name is a habitational surname for someone from a place near a rock.

23. Stepanek

The surname is derived from the first name Stephen.

24. Strnad

The surname means ‘bunting’.

Ancient Czech Last Names

Ancient names help us connect to our roots and also give us a sense of humbleness. It reminds us of the rich past and of those who came before us. Here are some ancient Czech last names to instil this feeling:

1. Adamik

The last name is Czech form of the Adam. 

2. Beranek

The surname means ‘little lamb’.

3. Bernard

The name is of German origin and means ‘bear’.

4. Bucek

The name means ‘small fat man’.

5. Cerveny

The name is of Czech and Slovak origin and means ‘red ruddy’.

6. Dusek

The surname means ‘spirit’.

7. Janousek

The surname is a Czech form of the name Jan.

8. Jedlicka

The name represents a small fir tree. 

9. Jehlicka

This is an occupational surname that means ‘needle’.

10. Kladivo

The name is an occupational surname for a blacksmith and translates to a hammer. 

11. Kohout

The surname means ‘rooster’.

12. Kostelecky

The surname is a habitational name for someone from any of the many places in Bohemia and Moravia.

13. Kriz

The name means ‘from the cross’.

14. Kudela

The surname means ‘reincarnator’.

15. Masopust

The surname means ‘carnival’.

16. Soukup

The surname represents someone who brings something. 

Czech surnames, just like English names, are passed down to generations. They have varied origins and were also occupational and toponymic.