Novotny
A Czech and Slovak surname meaning “new man” or “newcomer,” from the Slavic root for “new.”
The #5,270 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 46,659 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Novotny comes from Slavic nov-, meaning “new.” In Czech and Slovak naming, it developed as a descriptive surname for a newcomer, a recent settler, or someone marked out as “the new one.” The spelling without diacritics is the common English-language form of the Czech/Slovak surname Novotný / Novotný.
History
It is one of the most common surnames in the Czech Republic and is also well established in Slovakia and among emigrant communities in North America. The surname’s frequency reflects a common Slavic pattern of surnames formed from nicknames or descriptors rather than occupations. English-language records often drop the accent marks, producing Novotny.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In Czech surname statistics, Novotný has long ranked among the most common family names.
From the historical record
“*Novodunum 523. *Novomagus 523. Novotny 623. Nowak 78. Nowakofsky 78. Nowa-Nöwa 393. *Nowass 393.”
— Die Personennamen, insbesondere die Familiennamen