2000
#123,314
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 129
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Borskey
A surname of Russian origin, possibly derived from a place name or occupation.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 128 Americans carry the last name Borskey. That puts it at #147,954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,677,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Borskey 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
128
1 in 2,677,768
Census rank
#147,954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
112
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 112 bearers of the surname Borskey in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Borskey, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.2%. The next largest groups are Black (21.4%) and Hispanic (7.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Borskey
The surname Borskey has its origins in Eastern Europe, specifically in the countries of Poland and Ukraine. It is believed to have originated in the late 16th or early 17th century, derived from the Polish word "bor," meaning "pine forest." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who lived near or worked in a pine forest.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Borskey can be found in the Polish town of Krakow, where a merchant named Jan Borskey is mentioned in a local registry from 1627. Another early reference comes from the Ukrainian city of Lviv, where a nobleman named Yuri Borskey is listed in a land ownership document dated 1638.
In the 18th century, the Borskey surname began to appear in various historical records across Poland and Ukraine. Notable individuals from this time period include Andrzej Borskey (1712-1789), a Polish military officer who served in the Army of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and Oleksiy Borskey (1738-1804), a Ukrainian scholar and writer who authored several works on the history and culture of his native region.
As the name spread throughout Eastern Europe, it also took on various alternate spellings, such as Borski, Borsky, and Borskiy. These variations were likely influenced by different regional dialects and linguistic traditions.
One notable figure from the 19th century was Ivan Borskey (1819-1892), a Russian-born engineer who played a key role in the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway. Another was Maria Borskey (1845-1918), a Polish-born author and activist who advocated for women's rights and education.
In the early 20th century, the Borskey name gained some prominence in the United States, as immigrants from Eastern Europe settled in cities like Chicago, New York, and Pittsburgh. One such individual was Stanislaw Borskey (1886-1962), a Polish-born artist who became known for his landscape paintings and portraiture work.
Other notable individuals with the Borskey surname include Olga Borskey (1915-2001), a Ukrainian-born ballerina who performed with the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow, and Andrei Borskey (1925-2006), a Soviet-born mathematician who made significant contributions to the field of probability theory.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Borskey
Among Census respondents with the surname Borskey, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.2%. The next largest groups are Black (21.4%) and Hispanic (7.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Borskey 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 Borskey surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.2% · 73
- Black or African American21.4% · 24
- Hispanic or Latino7.1% · 8
- Two or more races4.5% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Borskey
Borskey 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
#139,228
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
-9 bearers (-7.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 15,914 places
2020
#147,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
-8 bearers (-6.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,726 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #123,314 | 129 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #139,228 | 120 | 0.04 | -9 bearers (-7.0%) | Down 15,914 places |
| 2020 | #147,954 | 112 | 0.04 | -8 bearers (-6.7%) | Down 8,726 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 Borskey 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 | #139,228 | #147,954 | -6.3% |
| Count | 120 | 112 | -6.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Borskey bearers went from 120 to 112 (-6.7% change). The surname moved down 8,726 positions in the national ranking, going from #139,228 to #147,954.
FAQ
Borskey surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Borskey?
Name Census estimates that about 128 living Americans carry the surname Borskey. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,677,768 residents.
How common is Borskey?
Borskey ranks #147,954 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 112 people with the surname Borskey. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (128), 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 Borskey.
Has Borskey become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Borskey went from 120 recorded bearers to 112. That is a decrease of 8 (-6.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #139,228 to #147,954.
What does the Census say about the background of Borskey?
Among Census respondents with the surname Borskey, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.2%. The next largest groups are Black (21.4%) and Hispanic (7.1%). 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 Borskey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.2% (73 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Borskey appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (65.2%), Black (21.4%), Hispanic (7.1%). 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 Borskey (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 Borskey mean?
A surname of Russian origin, possibly derived from a place name or occupation. 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 Borskey (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 common is the surname Borskey?
See how many people are called Borskey on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.