Surname Sobota - Meaning and Origin
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Sobota: What does the surname Sobota mean?
The last name Sobota is of Slavic origin. Its literal translation is Saturday, indicating that the original bearer of the name was born or baptized on the day. The name is derived from the word "sobota”, which is also the Czech, Slovak, Polish, and Slovene name for the day.
In some cases, the Sobota surname may have developed as a nickname for someone who was particularly fond of Saturday or as an occupational name for a worker in an industry only operating on the holiday.
The name may have developed independently in different parts of the world where the language bearing the name was spoken, or it may have been taken directly from the Slavic language. In either case, the Sobota name is rich with history behind its development.
In modern days, the Sobota family name is widely spread throughout Europe, although majority of its bearers live in Poland. In Poland, Sobota is the 39th most popular surname.
The Sobota name also has a strong presence in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, and South Africa, among other countries. To this day, the Sobota family name is indicative of hard work, loyalty, and strength of character.
Order DNA origin analysisSobota: Where does the name Sobota come from?
The last name Sobota is most commonly found in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In these countries, it is one of the most popular surnames and was historically among the fifty most popular surnames in both countries. In past centuries, it was also frequently found in the Silesian region of Germany; however, due to the post-World War II expulsion of Germans from much of Central and Eastern Europe, especially Czechoslovakia, this is no longer the case.
Outside of these regions, Sobota is still occasionally found throughout Europe, particularly Eastern Europe. In the United States of America, Sobota is most frequent in the states of Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan. It has also been found more widely throughout parts of the Midwest, as well as some other parts of the country including in Pennsylvania, California and New York. Its frequency in the US has increased in recent decades, largely due to the influx of immigrants from countries such as the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
In Australia, the name Sobota has been recorded since at least the early 20th century and is mainly concentrated in the states of New South Wales and Victoria. In Canada, Sobota appears to be most common in the province of Quebec.
Finally, Sobota is also found in various other countries around the world, in varying levels of frequency. Dependant on the United Nations estimate, the overall global population of people with the last name Sobota is estimated to be around 60,000.
Variations of the surname Sobota
The surname Sobota has a number of variants, spellings, and surnames of the same origin.
The most common variant in terms of spelling is Sobotka, with other spellings such as Sobotko, Sobotkova, Sobotkovic, Sobotkov, Sobotka, Sobotkiewicz,and Sobotov. These all stem from the Polish version of the name which has its root in the Slavic svetoboj meaning ‘holy fight’ or ‘holy battle’.
In Czech, the surname is rendered as Sobotka and is descended from the root svet (‘world’), thus bearing the meaning of ‘world fighter’ or ‘world defender’. The Hungarians spell this surname as Soboday or Sobotai, and in Slovakia, some distinguish Sobota and Sobotka surnames, depending on the region and dialect.
In the United States, one of the earliest immigrants bearing the Sobota surname arrived from Bohemia in 1871 and settled in New York. Later, another Sobota by the name of Michael settled in the same region of the United States. The Sobotka surname can also be found among the descendants of European migrants to Australia, Brazil, Mexico, and Canada.
Other surnames of the same origin include: Subotich, Sobottka, Soboťák, Sobotík, Sobôtka, Sobotica, Soboteck, Sobotin and Subotti. These spellings may be unique to different regions or countries, as well as to particular ethnicities or religions, so one should always take this into account when researching the origin of the Sobota surname.
Famous people with the name Sobota
- Marko Sobota: Slovenian professional basketball player
- Viktor Sobota: Slovak right winger for HC Košice
- Erik Sobota: Slovenian kayaker and two-time world champion
- Milan Sobota: Slovak footballer who plays for ŠK Slovan Bratislava
- Dora Sobota: Croatian chess International Master and former Croatian Women's Chess Champion
- Józef Sobota: Polish graphic artist, draughtsman and illustrator
- Pavol Sobota: Slovak professional ice hockey forward
- Aleksandar Sobota: Serbian footballer who plays for FK Partizan
- Damian Sobota: Polish footballer who plays for Zaglebie Sosnowiec
- Jim Sobota: American Society for Cybernetics president and John F.Ellis Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Manufacturing at Georgia Institute of Technology