2000
#127,186
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Selnick
A Slavic habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "villager".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Selnick. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Selnick 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
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Selnick in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Selnick, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Selnick
The surname Selnick originates from the German regions of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, first appearing in records from the late 16th century. It likely derives from the Old High German words "seli" meaning "good fortune" and "nicco" meaning "victory" or "power." Alternatively, some sources suggest it may stem from a shortened form of the Germanic name "Selinneck."
Early spellings of the name include Selnik, Selnick, and Selnicker, found in parish records and tax rolls from towns like Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Tübingen. One of the earliest documented instances is Hans Selnick, a farmer mentioned in the 1589 Oberndorf am Neckar census.
In the 17th century, the Selnick name appeared in several German genealogical manuscripts, such as the 1627 "Stammtafel der Familie Selnick" compiled by Johannes Selnick, a merchant from Stuttgart. This work traced the family's lineage back to the 1400s in the village of Weilheim an der Teck.
Notable individuals with the Selnick surname include Johann Michael Selnick (1698-1768), a Lutheran pastor and theologian from Neustadt an der Aisch; and Friedrich Selnick (1822-1892), a Bavarian industrialist who established a successful textile manufacturing company in Augsburg.
Other historical figures bearing this name are Katharina Selnick (1763-1834), a midwife from Memmingen whose detailed birth records provided valuable demographic data for the region; and Wilhelm Selnick (1874-1944), a German army officer who served in World War I and received the Iron Cross for his service.
Matthias Selnick (1904-1983), born in Stuttgart, was a noted historian and author who published extensively on the cultural heritage of Baden-Württemberg, including the 1962 book "Die Selnicks: Eine Familienchronik" chronicling his family's origins and impact on the region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Selnick
Among Census respondents with the surname Selnick, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Selnick 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 Selnick surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.5% · 117
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Selnick
Selnick 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
#133,863
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 126
+2 bearers (+1.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,677 places
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
-6 bearers (-4.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,186 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #127,186 | 124 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #133,863 | 126 | 0.04 | +2 bearers (+1.6%) | Down 6,677 places |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-4.8%) | Down 8,186 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 Selnick 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 | #133,863 | #142,049 | -6.1% |
| Count | 126 | 120 | -4.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Selnick bearers went from 126 to 120 (-4.8% change). The surname moved down 8,186 positions in the national ranking, going from #133,863 to #142,049.
FAQ
Selnick surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Selnick?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Selnick. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Selnick?
Selnick ranks #142,049 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 120 people with the surname Selnick. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), 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 Selnick.
Has Selnick become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Selnick went from 126 recorded bearers to 120. That is a decrease of 6 (-4.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #133,863 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Selnick?
Among Census respondents with the surname Selnick, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Selnick in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.5% (117 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Selnick appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.5%), Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Selnick (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 Selnick mean?
A Slavic habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "villager". 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 Selnick (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 are called Selnick?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Selnick, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.