2000
#128,797
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Boretsky
From a Russian surname meaning "someone from the pinewood region."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Boretsky. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Boretsky surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Boretsky in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Boretsky, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Boretsky
The surname Boretsky originates from Eastern Europe, specifically in the regions of modern-day Belarus and western Russia. It is believed to have derived from the Belarusian word "bor," which means "pine forest." This suggests that the name may have initially been given to someone who lived near or worked in a pine forest.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Boretsky can be found in the Voskresenskaya Letopis, a Russian chronicle dating back to the 16th century. The name is mentioned in an entry from 1558, referring to a certain Ivan Boretsky who was a landowner in the Smolensk region.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the name Boretsky appeared in various historical records and documents across Belarus and Russia. For example, in the Razryadnye Knigi (a collection of military registers) from the 1670s, there is mention of a Grigory Boretsky who served as a cavalry officer.
In the late 18th century, a notable figure bearing the surname Boretsky was Mikhail Boretsky (1738-1819), a Russian military engineer and fortifications expert. He played a significant role in the construction of fortifications during the Russo-Turkish Wars.
Another prominent individual with this surname was Yakov Boretsky (1828-1908), a Russian entrepreneur and philanthropist. He amassed a significant fortune through his timber and logging businesses and donated a substantial portion of his wealth to educational institutions and charitable causes.
In the 20th century, one of the most well-known Boretskys was Nikolai Boretsky (1903-1975), a Soviet composer and conductor. He is particularly renowned for his work in the field of film music, having composed scores for several popular Soviet movies.
While the name Boretsky is primarily associated with Eastern European countries, it has also been found in other parts of the world due to migration and diaspora communities. However, its roots can be traced back to the pine forests of Belarus and western Russia, where the surname likely originated centuries ago.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Boretsky
Among Census respondents with the surname Boretsky, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Boretsky bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Boretsky surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.1% · 114
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Boretsky
Boretsky appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#148,347
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-11 bearers (-9.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 19,550 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
+4 bearers (+3.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,590 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #128,797 | 122 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #148,347 | 111 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-9.0%) | Down 19,550 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+3.6%) | Up 2,590 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Boretsky surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #148,347 | #145,757 | 1.7% |
| Count | 111 | 115 | 3.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Boretsky bearers went from 111 to 115 (+3.6% change). The surname moved up 2,590 positions in the national ranking, going from #148,347 to #145,757.
FAQ
Boretsky surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Boretsky?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Boretsky. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Boretsky?
Boretsky ranks #145,757 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 115 people with the surname Boretsky. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Boretsky.
Has Boretsky become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Boretsky went from 111 recorded bearers to 115. That is an increase of 4 (+3.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #148,347 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Boretsky?
Among Census respondents with the surname Boretsky, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Boretsky in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.1% (114 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Boretsky appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.1%), Hispanic (0.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Boretsky (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Boretsky mean?
From a Russian surname meaning "someone from the pinewood region." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Boretsky (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Boretsky?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Boretsky at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.