Novák,
Novak or
Nowak is the most common
Polish,
Czech,
Slovakian and
Slovenian[1] surname.
The name is derived from nový (=new), meaning something similar to new man, newcomer or stranger in English. The name was often given to someone who came to a new city or a convert to Christianity.
It is usually spelt Novák in Czech and Slovak, Nowak in Polish, and Novak in Slovenian, and pronounced the same way. Many Americans of the surname Nowak have had it Anglicized to Novak.
In Poland, it is spelled Nowak, and 203,506 people carry this surname. The archaic feminine version of the Polish version is Nowakowa and its plural Nowakowie. In that country, Nowakowski, Nowacki, and Nowakiewicz developed as well.
