2000
#5,107
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,302
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.34
Rare Last name
Horsley
Derived from a place name meaning "horse clearing" or "horse wood" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,255 Americans carry the last name Horsley. That puts it at #5,316 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.12 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 47,244 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Horsley 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 Horsley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.3K
1 in 47,244
Census rank
#5,316
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,327 bearers of the surname Horsley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.12 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5316th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Horsley, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.5%. The next largest groups are Black (14.3%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Horsley
The surname Horsley originated in England and has been present since the 11th century. It is a locational name derived from various places in England called Horsley, which means "a clearing or pasture where horses graze." The name comes from the Old English words "hors" meaning horse and "leah" meaning a meadow or clearing.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the surname Horsley can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Horsleie" and "Horslegh." This suggests that people were already taking on the name Horsley from their place of residence around the time of the Norman Conquest.
In the 13th century, records show a Roger de Horsley living in Northumberland, indicating the presence of the name in that region. The Horsley family also had a strong presence in Gloucestershire, where they owned lands and properties.
One notable bearer of the name was Sir John Horsley (c. 1490-1544), a courtier and Member of Parliament during the reign of Henry VIII. He served as the High Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1536.
Another historical figure was John Horsley (1685-1732), an English mathematician and astronomer. He was appointed the Savilian Professor of Astronomy at the University of Oxford in 1719 and made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics.
In the 19th century, Samuel Horsley (1733-1806) was a renowned English bishop and composer. He served as the Bishop of Rochester and later became the Bishop of St. Asaph. Horsley was also an accomplished musician and wrote various sacred compositions.
The name Horsley has also been associated with notable places, such as Horsley Hill in South Gloucestershire, which was once owned by the Horsley family, and Horsley Park in New South Wales, Australia, named after an early settler with the surname.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Victor Horsley (1857-1916), a pioneering British neurosurgeon and scientist. He made significant contributions to the field of neurology and was one of the first to perform successful brain surgeries.
These examples illustrate the historical presence and significance of the surname Horsley, which has its roots in Old English and has been carried by notable individuals across various fields throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Horsley
Among Census respondents with the surname Horsley, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.5%. The next largest groups are Black (14.3%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Horsley 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 Horsley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.5% · 4,902
- Black or African American14.3% · 905
- Two or more races4.1% · 260
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 182
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 49
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 29
Timeline
Historical Census data for Horsley
Horsley 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
#5,306
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,565
+263 bearers (+4.2%)
Per 100,000 2.23
Rank movement Down 199 places
2020
#5,316
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,327
-238 bearers (-3.6%)
Per 100,000 2.12
Rank movement Down 10 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,107 | 6,302 | 2.34 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,306 | 6,565 | 2.23 | +263 bearers (+4.2%) | Down 199 places |
| 2020 | #5,316 | 6,327 | 2.12 | -238 bearers (-3.6%) | Down 10 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 Horsley 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 | #5,306 | #5,316 | -0.2% |
| Count | 6,565 | 6,327 | -3.6% |
| Per 100K | 2.23 | 2.12 | -5.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Horsley bearers went from 6,565 to 6,327 (-3.6% change). The surname moved down 10 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,306 to #5,316.
FAQ
Horsley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Horsley?
Name Census estimates that about 7,255 living Americans carry the surname Horsley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 47,244 residents.
How common is Horsley?
Horsley ranks #5,316 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.12 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,327 people with the surname Horsley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,255), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.12 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.12 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Horsley.
Has Horsley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Horsley went from 6,565 recorded bearers to 6,327. That is a decrease of 238 (-3.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,306 to #5,316.
What does the Census say about the background of Horsley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Horsley, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.5%. The next largest groups are Black (14.3%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Horsley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.5% (4,902 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Horsley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (77.5%), Black (14.3%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Horsley (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 Horsley mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "horse clearing" or "horse wood" in Old English. 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 Horsley (2.12 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 Horsley?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.