Klimek Family History & Genealogy

History

Early saint and disciple of St. Paul, Clements was selected by over 10 Popes before 1045. Predominantly male, originates from "Clementia (clemency or mercy)." Popular female landowner surname in medieval period (includes Mary, Joan, and Elizabeth). Earliest surviving English records, the first to adopt hereditary surnames. Examples Clemens Monachus, Clememt the monk (1152 register of St. Benet's abbey, Holme, Norfolk County), and Oxford's Knight Templar Richard Clement (1153). Also Richard Clemmence (100 Rolls Huntingdonshire County), and Robert Clymant (Sussex 1327), Germany Leonard Klement (1482 Ulm city charters). First recorded spelling is Oxfordshire Knight Templar William Clement (1150, England's King Henry). Known as, "church builder," reigned from 1154-1189.

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According to genealgy.com surname forums,

Name Origin

Surname (from given name), usage Polish, derived from a diminutive of KLEMENS. An interesting name, with hundreds of spellings, derives from the Roman (Latin) "Clemens" meaning "merciful". surname.com Same surname origin...
Czech: Klement, Klíma, Klímek
Danish: Clemensen
English: Clemens, Clement
French: Clément
Hungarian: Kelemen
Slovak: Klement
English: Clemens, Clement

An example of how frustrating common surname research can be...
I was adopted so I don’t know the names of my grandparents. I only know my father’s name, Vitorio Klimek. I'm sure he was one of a thousand immigrants from Poland during WWII. His parents came to Brazil. I hope you can help me because I have a lot of questions.

I wish I could help, but I have no information on individuals. I deal with the surname origins. Klimek began as a short form of Klemens, a first name from Latin. It means, "little Klemens," or, "son of Klemens." It is very common in Poland, there's a map illustrating how widespread Klimek is:

Spellings & Pronunciations

Klement, Klíma, Klímek (Czech) Clemensen (Danish) Clemens, Clement (English) Clément(French) Kelemen(Hungarian) Klement (Slovak). See also Klimeck, Klimak, Klimach, Clemons, Climance, to Clemitt, Klima, Klimkiewicz. In the United States, Klimek is ranked 9,328 out of 162,253 most popular names. //surnames.behindthename.com/name/klimek

Nationality & Ethnicity

Polish, Czech, and Sorbian: from Klim, short for Kliment from Latin Clemens (see Clement). Search for Klimecki in southern Poland, including mountains area near Stary Sacz. Klimek, Lithuanian from first name Klemens. Also Klimiec (Ruthenian Klymeć) Located near Stryj on today's Ukraine territory. 1385 is the first written mention of the surname.

Famous People named Klimek

Klimek is a Czech, Polish, and Sorbian surname. According to Wikipedia, notable Klimeks are:

Alf Klimek (born 1956), American musician
Antonín Klimek (1937–2005), Czech historian
Arkadiusz Klimek (born 1975), Polish footballer
István Klimek (1913–1988), Hungarian-Romanian footballer
Jan Klimek (born 1953), Polish politician
Jayney Klimek (born 1962), Australian singer
Johnny Klimek (born 1962), Australian film composer
Lukáš Klimek (born 1986), Czech ice hockey player
Tillie Klimek (1876–1936), American serial killer

Early Klimeks

These are the earliest records we have of the Klimek family.