2000
#7,214
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,269
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.58
Rare Last name
Seltzer
A Jewish occupational surname derived from the German word "Seltzer," meaning seltzer-water maker or seller.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,494 Americans carry the last name Seltzer. That puts it at #8,096 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.31 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 76,269 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Seltzer 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
4.5K
1 in 76,269
Census rank
#8,096
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,919 bearers of the surname Seltzer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.31 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8096th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Seltzer, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Black (7.5%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Seltzer
The surname Seltzer is of German origin, deriving from the German word "Selters", which refers to the town of Selters in the Rhine Valley region of Germany. The name is believed to have originated in the late 16th or early 17th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Seltzer can be found in the Grimm's Deutsches Wörterbuch, a historical dictionary of the German language, which mentions the surname in its entries from the 17th century. This suggests that the name was already in use by that time.
The town of Selters was known for its mineral springs, and it is likely that the surname Seltzer was initially given to individuals who either lived in or came from that area. The name may have also been used to identify those who were involved in the production or distribution of mineral water from Selters.
In the 18th century, the name Seltzer began to appear in various records and documents across Germany. One notable individual was Johann Seltzer, a merchant and businessman from Frankfurt, who was born in 1723 and died in 1791.
As the name spread beyond Germany, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Selzer, Selzer, and Seltzer. In the 19th century, the Seltzer surname can be found in records from other European countries, including Austria, Switzerland, and France.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Seltzer surname in the United States dates back to the early 19th century. In 1820, a man named Jacob Seltzer immigrated to Pennsylvania from Germany. Another notable figure was Charles Seltzer, an American author and screenwriter who was born in 1868 and died in 1937.
Other individuals who bore the Seltzer surname throughout history include:
1. Heinrich Seltzer, a German painter and engraver from the 16th century.
2. Justus Seltzer, a German theologian and author who lived in the 17th century.
3. Anna Maria Seltzer, a German writer and poet from the 18th century.
4. Otto Seltzer, a German-American businessman and philanthropist who lived from 1862 to 1934.
5. Walter Seltzer, an American film producer and director active in the early 20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Seltzer
Among Census respondents with the surname Seltzer, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Black (7.5%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Seltzer 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 Seltzer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.7% · 3,318
- Black or African American7.5% · 294
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 144
- Two or more races3.1% · 122
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 35
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Seltzer
Seltzer 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
#7,856
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,213
-56 bearers (-1.3%)
Per 100,000 1.43
Rank movement Down 642 places
2020
#8,096
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,919
-294 bearers (-7.0%)
Per 100,000 1.31
Rank movement Down 240 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,214 | 4,269 | 1.58 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,856 | 4,213 | 1.43 | -56 bearers (-1.3%) | Down 642 places |
| 2020 | #8,096 | 3,919 | 1.31 | -294 bearers (-7.0%) | Down 240 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 Seltzer 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 | #7,856 | #8,096 | -3.1% |
| Count | 4,213 | 3,919 | -7.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.43 | 1.31 | -8.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Seltzer bearers went from 4,213 to 3,919 (-7.0% change). The surname moved down 240 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,856 to #8,096.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Seltzer
FAQ
Seltzer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Seltzer?
Name Census estimates that about 4,494 living Americans carry the surname Seltzer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 76,269 residents.
How common is Seltzer?
Seltzer ranks #8,096 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.31 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,919 people with the surname Seltzer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,494), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.31 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.31 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Seltzer.
Has Seltzer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Seltzer went from 4,213 recorded bearers to 3,919. That is a decrease of 294 (-7.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,856 to #8,096.
What does the Census say about the background of Seltzer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Seltzer, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Black (7.5%) and Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Seltzer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.7% (3,318 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Seltzer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.7%), Black (7.5%), Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Seltzer (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 Seltzer mean?
A Jewish occupational surname derived from the German word "Seltzer," meaning seltzer-water maker or seller. 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 Seltzer (1.31 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 common is the surname Seltzer?
See how common the surname Seltzer is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.