Kürschák

Kürschák is a surname of Hungarian origin. It is thought to derive from the Hungarian word "kür" which means "horn" or "bugle," suggesting an occupational surname for someone who played a horn or bugle, or perhaps a maker of such instruments. Alternatively, it could have been a nickname.

The name is most famously associated with József Kürschák, a prominent Hungarian mathematician. Born in 1864, he made significant contributions to various fields of mathematics, including analysis, algebra, and number theory. He was also an influential educator, holding a professorship at the University of Budapest for many years and mentoring numerous students who went on to become mathematicians themselves. The Kürschák Competition, a prestigious national mathematics competition for high school students in Hungary, is named in his honor.

While the surname is most strongly linked to the mathematician József Kürschák, it is a surname found among various Hungarian families. Its historical prevalence and geographical distribution would be typical of surnames that originated from common trades or descriptive nicknames.