2000
#117,538
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 137
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Litsky
Derived from a Polish topographic surname referring to someone from a forested area.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Litsky. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Litsky 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Litsky in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Litsky, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.7%) and Hispanic (6.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Litsky
The surname Litsky is of Russian origin, tracing its roots back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated from the Russian word "litso," which means "face" or "countenance." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a descriptive nickname to someone with distinctive facial features or perhaps a profession related to portraiture or sculpting.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Veliky Novgorod census records of 1583, where a certain Grigory Litsky is mentioned as a landowner in the village of Borovichi. This region was part of the Novgorod Republic, a powerful medieval state in northwestern Russia.
In the 17th century, the name appears in various church records and legal documents across different parts of Russia. For example, a Ivan Litsky is mentioned as a merchant in the city of Arkhangelsk in 1622, while a Fyodor Litsky is recorded as a landowner in the town of Ustyuzhna in 1657.
As the name spread across Russia, it also underwent several spelling variations, such as Litskiy, Litskoy, and Litskoi. These variations may have been influenced by regional dialects or scribal errors in record-keeping.
One notable figure in Russian history with the surname Litsky was Ivan Litsky (1799-1876), a prominent military engineer and architect who oversaw the construction of several fortifications and buildings in St. Petersburg and other cities during the reign of Tsar Nicholas I.
In the 19th century, the name also found its way to other parts of Eastern Europe, including Ukraine and Belarus. Grigory Litsky (1835-1907), a Ukrainian writer and journalist, played a significant role in promoting the Ukrainian language and culture during the late Russian Empire period.
Another individual of note was Nikolai Litsky (1861-1932), a Russian-born American businessman and philanthropist who made his fortune in the steel industry. He established the Litsky Foundation, which supported various educational and cultural initiatives in the United States and Russia.
The surname Litsky has also been associated with several notable academics and scholars, such as Mikhail Litsky (1901-1988), a renowned Russian mathematician and educator, and Yuri Litsky (1928-2003), a respected linguist and expert in Slavic languages.
While the name may have originated as a descriptive nickname, over the centuries, it has become a well-established surname with a rich history and presence across various regions of Eastern Europe and beyond.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Litsky
Among Census respondents with the surname Litsky, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.7%) and Hispanic (6.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Litsky 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 Litsky surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.6% · 95
- Two or more races8.7% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino6.1% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Litsky
Litsky 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
#156,044
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-33 bearers (-24.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 38,506 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
+11 bearers (+10.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 10,287 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #117,538 | 137 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #156,044 | 104 | 0.04 | -33 bearers (-24.1%) | Down 38,506 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | +11 bearers (+10.6%) | Up 10,287 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 Litsky 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 | #156,044 | #145,757 | 6.6% |
| Count | 104 | 115 | 10.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Litsky bearers went from 104 to 115 (+10.6% change). The surname moved up 10,287 positions in the national ranking, going from #156,044 to #145,757.
FAQ
Litsky surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Litsky?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Litsky. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Litsky?
Litsky ranks #145,757 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 115 people with the surname Litsky. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Litsky.
Has Litsky become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Litsky went from 104 recorded bearers to 115. That is an increase of 11 (+10.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #156,044 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Litsky?
Among Census respondents with the surname Litsky, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.7%) and Hispanic (6.1%). 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 Litsky in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.6% (95 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Litsky appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.6%), Two or More Races (8.7%), Hispanic (6.1%). 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 Litsky (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 Litsky mean?
Derived from a Polish topographic surname referring to someone from a forested area. 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 Litsky (0.04 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 have the surname Litsky?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.