2000
#73,659
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 245
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.09
Very Rare Last name
Herskovits
A surname of Jewish Ashkenazi origin, referring to someone from the town of Herskovic or Hershkowitz.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 558 Americans carry the last name Herskovits. That puts it at #47,035 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.16 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 614,255 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Herskovits 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
558
1 in 614,255
Census rank
#47,035
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
487
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 487 bearers of the surname Herskovits in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.16 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 47035th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Herskovits, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (0.4%) and Hispanic (0.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Herskovits
The surname Herskovits has its origins in Eastern Europe, specifically in the Ashkenazi Jewish communities of Poland and Russia. It is a variant of the more common surname Hirschowitz, which is derived from the German word "Hirsch," meaning "deer." This suggests that the name may have been initially adopted as a descriptive name or an occupational name for someone who hunted or dealt with deer.
In the early 19th century, records show the Herskovits name appearing in various regions of the Russian Empire, including modern-day Belarus, Ukraine, and Lithuania. One of the earliest documented instances is found in the town of Slonim, in what is now Belarus, where a family by the name of Herskovits is mentioned in a census record from 1816.
The Herskovits name is also found in historical documents from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, particularly in areas with significant Jewish populations. For example, a merchant named Itzak Herskovits is recorded in the city of Vilnius (then part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania) in the late 18th century.
As the Jewish population in Eastern Europe faced persecution and pogroms throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, many Herskovits families immigrated to other parts of Europe and the Americas. One notable figure was the renowned anthropologist Melville J. Herskovits (1895-1963), who was born in Bellefontaine, Ohio, to parents of Polish-Jewish descent. He is considered a pioneer in the study of African cultures and a leading figure in the field of African-American studies.
Another prominent individual with the Herskovits surname was Lily Herskovits (1888-1965), a renowned art collector and philanthropist from New York City. Her extensive collection of African and Oceanic art was later donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
In the literary world, the name Herskovits is associated with Joseph Herskovits (1884-1960), a Polish-born writer and translator who immigrated to the United States in the early 20th century. He is best known for his translations of works by Sholem Aleichem and other Yiddish authors.
The name Herskovits has also been documented in various parts of Central and Western Europe, likely due to the migration of Jewish families from Eastern Europe. For instance, there are records of Herskovits families in Germany, France, and the Netherlands in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Overall, the surname Herskovits reflects the rich cultural heritage and diverse experiences of the Ashkenazi Jewish diaspora, with its roots firmly planted in the communities of Eastern Europe and its branches extending across the globe.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Herskovits
Among Census respondents with the surname Herskovits, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (0.4%) and Hispanic (0.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Herskovits 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 Herskovits surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.2% · 483
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.2% · 1
- Two or more races0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Herskovits
Herskovits 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
#56,444
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 362
+117 bearers (+47.8%)
Per 100,000 0.12
Rank movement Up 17,215 places
2020
#47,035
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 487
+125 bearers (+34.5%)
Per 100,000 0.16
Rank movement Up 9,409 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #73,659 | 245 | 0.09 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #56,444 | 362 | 0.12 | +117 bearers (+47.8%) | Up 17,215 places |
| 2020 | #47,035 | 487 | 0.16 | +125 bearers (+34.5%) | Up 9,409 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 Herskovits 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 | #56,444 | #47,035 | 16.7% |
| Count | 362 | 487 | 34.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.12 | 0.16 | 35.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Herskovits bearers went from 362 to 487 (+34.5% change). The surname moved up 9,409 positions in the national ranking, going from #56,444 to #47,035.
FAQ
Herskovits surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Herskovits?
Name Census estimates that about 558 living Americans carry the surname Herskovits. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 614,255 residents.
How common is Herskovits?
Herskovits ranks #47,035 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.16 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 487 people with the surname Herskovits. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (558), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.16 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.16 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 Herskovits.
Has Herskovits become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Herskovits went from 362 recorded bearers to 487. That is an increase of 125 (+34.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #56,444 to #47,035.
What does the Census say about the background of Herskovits?
Among Census respondents with the surname Herskovits, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (0.4%) and Hispanic (0.2%). 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 Herskovits in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.2% (483 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Herskovits appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.4%), Hispanic (0.2%). 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 Herskovits (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 Herskovits mean?
A surname of Jewish Ashkenazi origin, referring to someone from the town of Herskovic or Hershkowitz. 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 Herskovits (0.16 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 share the surname Herskovits?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.