2000
#101,157
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 165
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Horelica
A surname derived from a Slavic word meaning "dweller from the uplands or mountains".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 181 Americans carry the last name Horelica. That puts it at #116,774 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,893,670 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Horelica 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
181
1 in 1,893,670
Census rank
#116,774
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
158
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 158 bearers of the surname Horelica in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 116774th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Horelica, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (1.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Horelica
The surname Horelica has its origins in the Czech Republic, dating back to the early 15th century. It is believed to have originated from the Czech word "horel," which means "a mountain dweller" or "one who lives in the hills." This suggests that the name was initially associated with people living in the mountainous regions of the country.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Horelica can be found in a historical document dated 1432, which mentions a certain Jan Horelica from the village of Hradec Králové in eastern Bohemia. Another early reference is a land registry from 1468, documenting a family with the surname Horelica residing in the town of Plzeň.
During the 16th century, the name Horelica appeared to have spread across various regions of the Czech Kingdom. In 1512, a man named Petr Horelica was listed as a resident of the town of Litomyšl in the eastern part of the country. A few decades later, in 1567, a document from the city of Olomouc mentioned a merchant named Jakub Horelica.
One of the most notable individuals bearing the surname Horelica was Václav Horelica (1587-1647), a renowned clockmaker and artisan who lived in Prague during the reign of Emperor Rudolf II. His intricate and ornate clocks were highly sought after by the nobility and are now considered treasures of Czech art and craftsmanship.
Another prominent figure was Jan Horelica (1735-1807), a renowned architect and builder who was responsible for designing and constructing several churches and monasteries in the Bohemian region. His most famous work is the Church of St. Nicholas in the town of Kutná Hora, which is considered a masterpiece of Baroque architecture.
In the 19th century, a notable mention of the name Horelica can be found in the writings of the Czech historian and linguist František Palacký (1798-1876), who referenced a family of that name in his work on the history of the Czech lands.
Additionally, the surname Horelica has been associated with various place names throughout the Czech Republic. For instance, there is a village called Horelice in the Plzeň region, which may have derived its name from the surname or vice versa.
Throughout history, variations of the spelling Horelica have existed, such as Horellica, Horelyka, and Horelyka. However, the core meaning and origin of the name have remained consistent, tracing back to the Czech word "horel" and the association with mountainous regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Horelica
Among Census respondents with the surname Horelica, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (1.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Horelica 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 Horelica surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.3% · 149
- Two or more races3.8% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino1.3% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Horelica
Horelica 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
#101,737
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 177
+12 bearers (+7.3%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Down 580 places
2020
#116,774
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 158
-19 bearers (-10.7%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 15,037 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #101,157 | 165 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #101,737 | 177 | 0.06 | +12 bearers (+7.3%) | Down 580 places |
| 2020 | #116,774 | 158 | 0.05 | -19 bearers (-10.7%) | Down 15,037 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 Horelica 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 | #101,737 | #116,774 | -14.8% |
| Count | 177 | 158 | -10.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.06 | 0.05 | -11.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Horelica bearers went from 177 to 158 (-10.7% change). The surname moved down 15,037 positions in the national ranking, going from #101,737 to #116,774.
FAQ
Horelica surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Horelica?
Name Census estimates that about 181 living Americans carry the surname Horelica. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,893,670 residents.
How common is Horelica?
Horelica ranks #116,774 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.05 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 158 people with the surname Horelica. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (181), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.05 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 Horelica.
Has Horelica become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Horelica went from 177 recorded bearers to 158. That is a decrease of 19 (-10.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #101,737 to #116,774.
What does the Census say about the background of Horelica?
Among Census respondents with the surname Horelica, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (1.3%). 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 Horelica in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.3% (149 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Horelica appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.3%), Two or More Races (3.8%), Hispanic (1.3%). 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 Horelica (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 Horelica mean?
A surname derived from a Slavic word meaning "dweller from the uplands or mountains". 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 Horelica (0.05 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 Horelica?
Want to know how many people have the last name Horelica? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.