2010
#143,149
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Maletsky
A surname originating from Eastern Europe, likely derived from a diminutive form of a male personal name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Maletsky. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Maletsky 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Maletsky in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Maletsky, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (6.9%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Maletsky
The surname Maletsky originates from the Russian Empire during the 18th century. It is believed to have derived from the Russian word "malet," meaning "small" or "little," combined with the suffix "-sky," which was commonly used to denote a place of origin or residence. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived in or came from a small village or town.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Maletsky can be found in the archives of the Russian Orthodox Church, where a certain Ivan Maletsky was mentioned as a landowner in the Smolensk region in the late 1700s. The name also appeared in various census records and land ownership documents from the same period in the neighboring regions of Bryansk and Kaluga.
During the 19th century, the Maletsky name gained prominence in the Russian literary circles. Nikolai Maletsky (1810-1878), a renowned poet and translator, was known for his work in popularizing the works of European poets such as Lord Byron and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe among Russian readers. His contemporaries included the writer and philosopher Alexander Ivanovich Maletsky (1815-1888), who authored several influential works on Russian philosophy and culture.
In the early 20th century, the name Maletsky was associated with the Russian revolutionary movement. Yuri Maletsky (1892-1938) was a prominent Bolshevik and a close associate of Vladimir Lenin. He played a significant role in the October Revolution of 1917 and later served as a high-ranking official in the Soviet government before falling victim to Joseph Stalin's purges.
Another notable figure with the Maletsky surname was Andrei Maletsky (1901-1976), a renowned Soviet architect who contributed to the design of several landmark buildings in Moscow, including the iconic Seven Sisters skyscrapers. His work played a crucial role in shaping the architectural landscape of the Soviet capital during the mid-20th century.
Lastly, Mikhail Maletsky (1927-2002) was a celebrated Russian artist known for his vibrant and expressive abstract paintings. His works were widely exhibited both in the Soviet Union and internationally, and he is considered one of the leading figures of the Russian avant-garde art movement of the late 20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maletsky
Among Census respondents with the surname Maletsky, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (6.9%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Maletsky 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 Maletsky surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.9% · 102
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.9% · 8
- Two or more races5.2% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Maletsky
Maletsky appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,879 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #143,149 | 116 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 1,879 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 Maletsky 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 | #143,149 | #145,028 | -1.3% |
| Count | 116 | 116 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Maletsky bearers went from 116 to 116 (+0.0% change). The surname moved down 1,879 positions in the national ranking, going from #143,149 to #145,028.
FAQ
Maletsky surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Maletsky?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Maletsky. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Maletsky?
Maletsky ranks #145,028 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 116 people with the surname Maletsky. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), 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 Maletsky.
Has Maletsky become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Maletsky went from 116 recorded bearers to 116. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #143,149 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Maletsky?
Among Census respondents with the surname Maletsky, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (6.9%) and Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Maletsky in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.9% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Maletsky appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (6.9%), Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Maletsky (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 Maletsky mean?
A surname originating from Eastern Europe, likely derived from a diminutive form of a male personal name. 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 Maletsky (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 share the surname Maletsky?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.