2000
#37,881
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 551
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.20
Very Rare Last name
Sestak
A surname possibly derived from the Czech word sesit, meaning "to bring together" or "to gather."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 693 Americans carry the last name Sestak. That puts it at #39,333 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.20 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 494,595 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sestak surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
693
1 in 494,595
Census rank
#39,333
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
604
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 604 bearers of the surname Sestak in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.20 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 39333rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sestak, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sestak
The surname Sestak has its origins in the Czech Republic and is believed to have first appeared in the early 15th century. It is derived from the Czech word "sesek," which means "a cleared area of land" or "a clearing in a forest." This suggests that the name may have originated as a descriptive term for someone who lived in or near a cleared area of land.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sestak can be found in a 1436 document from the town of Litomerice, which mentions a person named Jan Sestak. The name also appears in various records from the 16th and 17th centuries in the regions of Bohemia and Moravia, which were part of the Kingdom of Bohemia at the time.
In the 18th century, the name Sestak can be found in records from the town of Kutná Hora, a historic mining town in central Bohemia. One notable individual with this surname was Vaclav Sestak, a miner who lived in Kutná Hora in the mid-1700s.
The surname Sestak has also been associated with several notable figures throughout history. One such individual was Jan Sestak, a Czech composer and organist who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He is known for his contributions to the development of Czech sacred music during the Renaissance period.
Another notable bearer of the Sestak surname was Karel Sestak, a Czech painter and illustrator who lived from 1857 to 1935. He was renowned for his landscape paintings and illustrations of Czech folklore and mythology.
In the 20th century, Josef Sestak was a prominent Czech politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Czechoslovakia from 1953 to 1962. He played a significant role in shaping the country's foreign policy during the Cold War era.
While the surname Sestak is most commonly associated with the Czech Republic, it has also been found in other parts of Europe, particularly in areas with historical connections to the Czech lands. However, the majority of historical records and notable individuals with this surname can be traced back to its Czech origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sestak
Among Census respondents with the surname Sestak, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Sestak bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Sestak surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.0% · 562
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 18
- Two or more races2.0% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 5
- Black or African American0.7% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sestak
Sestak appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#38,214
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 580
+29 bearers (+5.3%)
Per 100,000 0.20
Rank movement Down 333 places
2020
#39,333
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 604
+24 bearers (+4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.20
Rank movement Down 1,119 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #37,881 | 551 | 0.20 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #38,214 | 580 | 0.20 | +29 bearers (+5.3%) | Down 333 places |
| 2020 | #39,333 | 604 | 0.20 | +24 bearers (+4.1%) | Down 1,119 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Sestak surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #38,214 | #39,333 | -2.9% |
| Count | 580 | 604 | 4.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.20 | 0.20 | 1.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sestak bearers went from 580 to 604 (+4.1% change). The surname moved down 1,119 positions in the national ranking, going from #38,214 to #39,333.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Sestak
FAQ
Sestak surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sestak?
Name Census estimates that about 693 living Americans carry the surname Sestak. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 494,595 residents.
How common is Sestak?
Sestak ranks #39,333 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.20 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 604 people with the surname Sestak. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (693), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.2 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.20 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Sestak.
Has Sestak become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sestak went from 580 recorded bearers to 604. That is an increase of 24 (+4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #38,214 to #39,333.
What does the Census say about the background of Sestak?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sestak, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Sestak in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (562 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sestak appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.0%), Hispanic (3.0%), Two or More Races (2.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Sestak (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Sestak mean?
A surname possibly derived from the Czech word sesit, meaning "to bring together" or "to gather." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Sestak (0.20 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Sestak?
Want to know how many people have the last name Sestak? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.