2000
#93,006
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 183
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.07
Very Rare Last name
Selznick
A Yiddish surname derived from Selz, a town in Germany near Frankfurt.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 214 Americans carry the last name Selznick. That puts it at #102,571 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,601,656 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Selznick 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
214
1 in 1,601,656
Census rank
#102,571
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
187
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 187 bearers of the surname Selznick in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 102571st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Selznick, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Selznick
The surname SELZNICK is a variation of the German surname Selznik or Selznick, which originated in the region of Selznik, located in the southwest of modern-day Germany. The name is believed to have derived from the Old High German word "salz," meaning salt, and "nik," which means a small stream or brook, suggesting that the name may have referred to a salty stream or a location near a salty body of water.
Records show that the name SELZNICK first appeared in the 12th century in the Rhineland region of Germany. One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval documents from the region, where a certain Henricus de Selznik is mentioned in 1187.
During the Middle Ages, the SELZNICK family appears to have been prominent landowners and nobles in the Rhineland area. A notable figure was Johann von Selznik (1225-1298), who served as a knight and advisor to the Archbishop of Cologne.
As the name spread across Europe, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Selznick, Selznik, and Selznicker. In England, the earliest recorded instance of the name was in the 16th century, where a Thomas Selznick is mentioned in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, in 1563.
One of the most renowned individuals bearing the SELZNICK surname was the American film producer David O. Selznick (1902-1965), who was responsible for producing iconic films like "Gone with the Wind" (1939) and "Rebecca" (1940). Another notable figure was the Russian-American mathematician Yakov Grigorevich Sinai (1935-2023), whose original surname was Selznik before it was russified.
Other historical figures with the SELZNICK surname include:
1. Johann Selznick (1681-1738), a German composer and organist active in the Baroque period.
2. Gertrude Selznick (1872-1947), an American philanthropist and women's rights activist.
3. Lewis J. Selznick (1870-1933), an American film producer and co-founder of the Selznick Pictures Corporation.
4. Myron Selznick (1898-1944), an American film producer and talent agent, brother of David O. Selznick.
The SELZNICK surname has a rich history spanning several centuries, with its origins rooted in the German regions along the Rhine River. While the name has undergone various spelling changes over time, it has maintained its association with notable figures in fields such as film, music, and philanthropy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Selznick
Among Census respondents with the surname Selznick, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Selznick 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 Selznick surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.4% · 169
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 6
- Two or more races3.2% · 6
- Black or African American1.6% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Selznick
Selznick 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
#99,845
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 181
-2 bearers (-1.1%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Down 6,839 places
2020
#102,571
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 187
+6 bearers (+3.3%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Down 2,726 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #93,006 | 183 | 0.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #99,845 | 181 | 0.06 | -2 bearers (-1.1%) | Down 6,839 places |
| 2020 | #102,571 | 187 | 0.06 | +6 bearers (+3.3%) | Down 2,726 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 Selznick 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 | #99,845 | #102,571 | -2.7% |
| Count | 181 | 187 | 3.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.06 | 0.06 | 4.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Selznick bearers went from 181 to 187 (+3.3% change). The surname moved down 2,726 positions in the national ranking, going from #99,845 to #102,571.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Selznick
FAQ
Selznick surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Selznick?
Name Census estimates that about 214 living Americans carry the surname Selznick. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,601,656 residents.
How common is Selznick?
Selznick ranks #102,571 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.06 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 187 people with the surname Selznick. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (214), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.06 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 Selznick.
Has Selznick become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Selznick went from 181 recorded bearers to 187. That is an increase of 6 (+3.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #99,845 to #102,571.
What does the Census say about the background of Selznick?
Among Census respondents with the surname Selznick, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Selznick in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.4% (169 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Selznick appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.4%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Selznick (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 Selznick mean?
A Yiddish surname derived from Selz, a town in Germany near Frankfurt. 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 Selznick (0.06 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 Selznick?
Find out how many people are called Selznick on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.