Surname Tschernek - Meaning and Origin
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Tschernek: What does the surname Tschernek mean?
The last name Tschernek is a German, Austrian and Czech surname. It is derived from the Middle High German word "tschernek" or "tscherenek" which means "small bridge". Additionally, the name can be translated from the Old Czech word “tscherenek” and the Middle High German word “tschernek”, which means “small bridge”.
The Tschernek surname is found primarily in the regions of Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, and Slovakia. It is unclear when the Tschernek surname first appeared in the region, however, it is known that the surname had existed since at least the 1500s.
Within the last 500 years, the surname has undergone several variations. Some variations in spelling include “Tschernik”, “Tscherneck”, “Tschernikow”, “Tschernayk” and “Tscherneyk”.
Tschernek family members can be commonly found in areas with communities of Austrian, German, and Czech descent. Many individuals with this surname can likely trace their roots to these ancestral nations. Today, the Tschernek surname is a globally recognized name, and it is still found in Germany, Austria, Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Given its long standing history, the Tschernek surname is likely to remain a recognized name for many more generations to come.
Order DNA origin analysisTschernek: Where does the name Tschernek come from?
The last name Tschernek is most commonly found in Europe, particularly in Slovakia and Hungary, with both countries having documented histories of the surname which go back hundreds of years. It is rare to find the surname in other continents, though there are documented examples of emigrant families with a Tschernek name in the United States and Canada in the nineteenth century.
In Slovakia, the concentration of people with the last name Tschernek is particularly high in the region of Prievidza, located in the center-west of the country. This region was historically part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and could explain the high number of people with the surname in the area. In Hungary, the surname is more dispersed but is still concentrated in the west of the country, particularly in and around the cities of Sopron and Győr.
Interestingly, the surname is usually associated with an area to the south of Hungary, in Austria, which historically was inhabited by many people of German ethnicity and held by the Habsburg monarchy. This could potentially explain the spread of the surname in the region and why it can also often appear as Schönerk, which is its German variant.
In conclusion, the surname Tschernek is most commonly found in Europe, particularly Slovakia and Hungary. Though not as widespread elsewhere, there are documented examples of the surname in other countries, including the United States and Canada. The German variant of the surname, Schönerk, is also a documented spelling.
Variations of the surname Tschernek
Tschernek is a German-language surname that derives from the Slavic word for "black." Variations of the name Tschernek include the German Schneider (tailor, recognized as a variant of the name in Baden-Wurttemberg) and Czernik (Polish). In Austria, the Tschernek variation is often spelled as Tscharnig or Tschirnig.
The spelling of the name can change depending on the country from which the surname originates. In Germany, the spelling of the name has been known to change to Scharnig with a long "a." In Switzerland, the name is sometimes spelled Chernek, while in Hungary, the surname is known as either Molnár or Tschernek.
In addition, there are numerous alternate spellings and variants of the surname. In Lithuania, the name is spelled Chernekov, or Chernekau in the local Yiddish language. In Ukraine, the name is spelled Tscharnyk or Tschornyk, while in Latvia it is spelled as Tscherniece. In Belarus, the name has been known to appear as Tschernovic or Cernov, two of the most common variations of the name.
The best known variant of the surname is certainly the version used by many members of the nobility who adopted the name of Tschernek Gräfen von Dürnau in Germany where, due to the spelling and pronunciation, the name is often shortened to Dürnauer.
Variants of the surname can also be found in North America. In the United States, the name is often spelled as Charnik, Sherneck, Tchernik, or Chernik. In Canada, the surname is often seen spelled as Sarniak, Chernick, or Czernick. In Brazil, a variant of the surname is seen spelled as Xirnek.
Famous people with the name Tschernek
- Wolfgang Tschernek: Austrian entrepreneur and co-founder of the Vienna University Entrepreneurship Center.
- Josef Tschernek: Austrian mountaineer and mountaineer instructor who founded the Vienna Alpine Club in 1893.
- Richard Tschernek: Austrian mountaineer who summited the Matterhorn in 1865 and was the first person to climb the Grossglockner mountain in Austria.
- Eric Tschernek: Austrian Olympic skeleton racer who competed in the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics.
- Rudolf Tschernek: Austrian classical literary scholar and author of works on world literature topics such as Faust, Goethe, and Friedrich Schiller.
- Ferdinand Tschernek: Austrian specialist in Roman law who wrote one of the first comprehensive commentaries on Justinian’s Code of Civil Law.
- Christine Tschernek: Austrian climber and mountaineer who completed the first female ascent of the South Face of the Grossglockner in 1986.
- Kurt Tschernek: Austrian film director and screenwriter known for his neo-realist films such as Kosaken and Die letzte Revolte.
- Franz Tschernek: Austrian modernist painter known for his Expressionist and Symbolist works.
- Hans Tschernek: Austrian documentary film-maker and cinematographer with works such as Oesterreich im Film and Horizonte was nie da.