Novak (in Serbo-Croatian and Slovene; Cyrillic: ), Novák (in Hungarian, Czech and Slovak), Nowak or Novack (in German and Polish), is a surname and masculine given name, derived from the Slavic word for "new" (e.g. , , / ), which depending on the exact language and usage, translates as "novice", "new man", "newcomer", or "stranger". It seems to originate, at least by common occurrence, in the province of Upper Silesia, when Germanic settlers moved into the upper Oder river region, the Slavs referred to the "new men" as "Nowaks". Another theory is that "new man" refers to a person who has converted to Christianity or to a new arrival in a city. It was also used for newcomers to an army and as an occupational surname for people who used the slash-and-burn method to create new arable land—novina. It is pronounced almost the same way in most languages, with the stress on the first syllable. The main exception is Slovene, which places the stress on the last syllable. It is the most common surname in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovenia, and the sixth most common in Croatia. It is also found in Romania and Moldova, in the Novac form, and among Ashkenazi Jews in various forms depending on their country of origin. Spelling The surname is usually spelled Novák in Czech, Slovak, and Hungarian, Nowak in Polish and German, Novak () in Serbo-Croatian, Slovene, Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian. In specific countries Poland As of 2009, Nowak ( ) is the most common surname in Poland, having surpassed Kowalski. Its plural is Nowakowie (). Nowak is used by both male and female individuals. The archaic feminine version is Nowakowa (). Related surnames include Nowakowski (feminine: Nowakowska; plural: Nowakowscy), Nowacki (feminine: Nowacka; plural: Nowaccy), Nowakowicz (gender-neutral), and Nowakiewicz (gender-neutral). Nowak is the most common surname in nine voivodeships (administrative units) of Poland, and second in another. It is ranked first in Greater Poland Voivodeship (35,011), Silesian Voivodeship (31,838), Lesser Poland Voivodeship (23,671), Łódź Voivodeship (15,460), Lower Silesian Voivodeship (13,217), West Pomeranian Voivodeship (7,444), Opole Voivodeship (5,538), Lubusz Voivodeship (5,444), and Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (5,538), and second in Subcarpathian Voivodeship (9,301). There are two noble families of Polish origin with the surname Nowak: One family appeared in Silesia in the 15th century. It included Anatol Nowak (died 1456), Archbishop of Wrocław. A branch of this family became barons in Bohemia in 1660. One