2000
#3,485
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,379
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.48
Uncommon Last name
Horowitz
A Jewish surname derived from the Slavic given name Hor, meaning "mountain" or "hill".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,803 Americans carry the last name Horowitz. That puts it at #3,673 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.15 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 31,728 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Horowitz 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Horowitz with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 31,728
Census rank
#3,673
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.4K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,421 bearers of the surname Horowitz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.15 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3673rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Horowitz, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Horowitz
The surname Horowitz originated in Germany and is of German-Jewish descent. It is a habitational name derived from the town of Horowitz in Saxony, which means "people from Horowitz." The name can be traced back to the 16th century, with some of the earliest recorded instances appearing in German parish records.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Horowitz was Moses Horowitz, a renowned Talmudic scholar who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He was born in Prague and authored several influential works on Jewish law.
In the 18th century, the name Horowitz was also associated with the famous Horowitz family of rabbis and scholars from Zhitomir, Ukraine. This family produced several notable figures, including Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer (1870-1953), a leading authority on Jewish law.
Another notable individual with the surname Horowitz was Vladimir Horowitz (1903-1989), a renowned Russian-American classical pianist. He was considered one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century and was known for his interpretations of works by composers such as Chopin, Liszt, and Rachmaninoff.
In the world of literature, Abraham Horowitz (1888-1940) was a Polish-American novelist and short story writer who wrote in Yiddish. He is best known for his novel "The Family Moskat," which depicts Jewish life in Poland before World War II.
The surname Horowitz has also been associated with several prominent figures in the field of medicine. One example is Leonard Horowitz (born 1950), an American author and former researcher who has written extensively on various medical topics, including AIDS and vaccination.
While the surname Horowitz has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to various parts of the world, including the United States, Israel, and other countries with significant Jewish populations. Despite its widespread distribution, the name remains a testament to its rich historical and cultural heritage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Horowitz
Among Census respondents with the surname Horowitz, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Horowitz 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 Horowitz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.2% · 8,878
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 243
- Two or more races1.7% · 158
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 86
- Black or African American0.6% · 53
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Horowitz
Horowitz 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
#3,674
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,671
+292 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 3.28
Rank movement Down 189 places
2020
#3,673
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,421
-250 bearers (-2.6%)
Per 100,000 3.15
Rank movement Up 1 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,485 | 9,379 | 3.48 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,674 | 9,671 | 3.28 | +292 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 189 places |
| 2020 | #3,673 | 9,421 | 3.15 | -250 bearers (-2.6%) | Up 1 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 Horowitz 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 | #3,674 | #3,673 | 0.0% |
| Count | 9,671 | 9,421 | -2.6% |
| Per 100K | 3.28 | 3.15 | -3.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Horowitz bearers went from 9,671 to 9,421 (-2.6% change). The surname moved up 1 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,674 to #3,673.
FAQ
Horowitz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Horowitz?
Name Census estimates that about 10,803 living Americans carry the surname Horowitz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 31,728 residents.
How common is Horowitz?
Horowitz ranks #3,673 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.15 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,421 people with the surname Horowitz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,803), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.15 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.15 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Horowitz.
Has Horowitz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Horowitz went from 9,671 recorded bearers to 9,421. That is a decrease of 250 (-2.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #3,674 to #3,673.
What does the Census say about the background of Horowitz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Horowitz, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Horowitz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.2% (8,878 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Horowitz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.2%), Hispanic (2.6%), Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Horowitz (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 Horowitz mean?
A Jewish surname derived from the Slavic given name Hor, meaning "mountain" or "hill". 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 Horowitz (3.15 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 Americans have the surname Horowitz?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.