Pasternak Family History
Pasternak Name Meaning
Polish Ukrainian Rusyn (in Slovakia spelled mainly Pasternák) and Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic); Slovak (Pasternák): from Polish Ukrainian Rusyn and eastern Yiddish pasternak ‘parsnip’ (via Middle High German from Latin pastinaca) apparently a nickname or in the case of the Jewish surname an artificial name.
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022