Most people coming to the USA from Czech lands (Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia) have had their name changed, either upon arrival to the preferred version or over time by mistakes. This page will help you to find possible original Czech first and last names that have been transformed to English. If you need more info on how to use the features on this page, click here to watch our video tutorial.
Last names are almost always changed to be easily understood and pronounced by English speakers. The changes may vary from a simple diacritics removal to a literal translation of the Czech last name.
The written Czech language uses diacritical marks above certain letters. Worldwide these diacritic marks are never used or are dropped for example Mr.RŮŽIČKA = Mr.RUZICKA or CERMAK = ČERMÁK or DVORAK = DVOŘÁK.Or they are changed for easier pronunciation in English like the letters SCH =Š or SH =Š or CH =Č or CZ =Č or W = V, F = V, C = K, E = I, OO = U so that the pronunciation stays the same or similar to the Czech original – example: ŠEBESTA = SCHEBESTA or VAŠÍČEK = VASHICHECK or VOMÁČKA = WOMACKA.
The tool bellow can add removed diacritical marks and revert spelling changes.
Czech Republic’s last names are gendered – women have different last names than their husbands. Most Czech female last names are identical to male last names, with “ová” added to the end. Male last names are typically the family name. It is the state law. For example, a male’s last name is Mr.NOVÁK and the female is Mrs.NOVÁKOVÁ. There are also other variants, for example, Mr.ČERNÝ and Mrs.ČERNÁ, and some names have the same male and female variant.
The form below allows you to find standard female last name variants for any given male last name.
Most Czech immigrants have either selected an English name of their choosing when arriving in the USA or used one assigned to them. Some English first names have a similar Czech alternative, so these were usually used (eg. Charles=Karel and George=Jiří or Kathrine=Kateřina and Claire=Klára). On rare occasions, somebody might have also kept their Czech name with a changed spelling.
The tool bellow can translate many English first names to their Czech equivalent.
Many Czech Surnames could translate to English either by literal translation (names like Černý=Black or Kovář=Smith), or by similarity to an English last name (eg. Novák=Newman or Svoboda=Freeman). However, these translations are rarely used and most names only use change the spelling for easier pronunciation.
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