Brlek families are Croats and they are mostly from Zlatar area. In the past century, relatively most of Croatian residents bearing this family name were born in Zagreb and Varazdin. In Lukavec in Ivanec every fourth inhabitant had the family name Brlek.
Prevalence
About 740 people with faimily name Brlek live in Croatia today, in 310 households. There were 750 of them in the middle of the past century, and their number remains constant. They are located in the most of Croatian counties, in 35 cities and 81 other places, mostly in Zagreb (160), Varazdin (90), Jertovec in Zlatar area (60), Dedina in Krizevci area (40), and in Karivaros in Donja Stubica area (30).
Outside Croatia
At least seven families with this surname emigrated from Croatia to: the United States (4), Sweden (1), Austria (1), and to Germany (1). Family name Brlek (including: Berlec , Brlec and Berlek ) is present in 17 countries on four continents.
In the sources analysed in the project Acta Croatica so far, the name is mentioned over ten times, the first time 1693 in source Catholic Church Parish Records.