Find out how popular the last name Horny is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Horny.

Horny, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Horny surname is from the 2000 census data.

Popularity of Horny in America

Horny is the 121058th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Horny surname appeared 132 times in the 2000 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Horny.

The history of the last name Horny

The surname Horny is believed to have originated from Central Europe, particularly in the regions that now comprise Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. The first known instances of the name trace back to the medieval period, around the 12th and 13th centuries. The name is derived from old Germanic words such as "Horn," which means "horn" and might refer to a person's occupation or a geographical feature resembling a horn.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname appears in German feudal records from the 13th century. A notable reference can be found in a Bavarian land register from 1250 where a Hans Horny is mentioned as a landowner. This indicates that the name was relatively well established by the mid-13th century in what is now Southern Germany.

The Czech form of the surname, Hory, appears in various Bohemian manuscripts from the 14th century. Petr Hory was documented as a merchant in Prague in 1379, reflecting the spread of the surname into the Slavic-speaking regions. This variation might reflect a localized linguistic adaptation of the name rather than a different root origin.

Throughout the 15th and 16th centuries, the Horny surname appears sporadically in various tax records, land deeds, and church registers around central Europe. Martin Horny, born in 1485, was a known townsman in Vienna who served as a council member, providing some insight into the family's social standing during that time.

By the 17th century, the surname had reached various parts of Europe due to migration and political changes. Records from the Protestant Reformation in Germany include a Johann Horny, born in 1621, who became a notable clergyman advocating for religious reforms in the Württemberg region.

In historical records from the Austrian region, we find another prominent figure, Maximilian Horny, born in 1715, who served as an officer in the Imperial Army. His participation in the numerous conflicts of the era and subsequent knighthood elevated the Horny surname into the aristocratic circles of the Habsburg Empire.

As European borders and dynamics changed, individuals bearing the surname Horny migrated to various other parts of the world, including North America. Count Karl Horny, born in 1790, was a prominent figure in Napoleonic France, serving as a diplomat and later moving to England in 1815 after the fall of Napoleon.

Though variations and adaptations of the surname Horny may appear due to linguistic and regional differences, the name consistently finds its roots in the old Germanic word "Horn." As families moved and settled in different regions, the spelling and pronunciation of the name might have changed slightly, but its origin remains distinctly Central European.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Horny

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Horny.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2000 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Horny was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Horny was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Horny, please contact us.

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