2000
#120,330
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 133
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Semich
A surname derived from a Slavic word meaning one who belongs to a family or community.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 120 Americans carry the last name Semich. That puts it at #152,989 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,856,286 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Semich 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
120
1 in 2,856,286
Census rank
#152,989
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
105
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 105 bearers of the surname Semich in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152989th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Semich, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.1%. The next largest groups are Black (1.9%) and Two or More Races (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Semich
The surname Semich has its origins in the Slavic regions of Eastern Europe, specifically in areas that are now part of modern-day Croatia and Serbia. It is believed to have emerged sometime during the Middle Ages, likely between the 12th and 15th centuries.
One of the earliest known references to the name Semich can be found in a medieval manuscript from the region of Dalmatia, which was part of the Kingdom of Croatia during the 14th century. The document, dated around 1380, mentions a landowner named Petar Semich who held property near the town of Sibenik.
The name Semich is thought to be derived from the Slavic root word "sem," which means "family" or "household." This suggests that the surname may have originally been used to identify individuals as belonging to a particular family or clan.
In the 16th century, records show that a noble family by the name of Semich resided in the city of Dubrovnik, which was then an independent city-state known as the Republic of Ragusa. One notable member of this family was Marko Semich, a merchant and diplomat who served as the ambassador of Ragusa to the Ottoman Empire in the late 1500s.
Another prominent figure with the surname Semich was Jovan Semich, a Serbian writer and philosopher who lived in the 18th century. Born in 1733 in the town of Vrsac, which was then part of the Habsburg Monarchy, Jovan Semich is considered one of the pioneers of Serbian literary criticism and is remembered for his works on ethics and moral philosophy.
In the 19th century, a Croatian artist named Milena Semich gained recognition for her landscape paintings and portraits. Born in 1845 in the city of Split, Milena Semich studied art in Italy and exhibited her works throughout Europe during her lifetime.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Semich in the United States can be traced back to the late 19th century, when a family of immigrants from Croatia settled in the state of Pennsylvania. This family included Ivan Semich, who was born in 1867 and worked as a coal miner in the Pennsylvania mining towns.
Throughout its history, the surname Semich has been associated with various regions and cultures within the Slavic world, reflecting the diverse origins and migrations of people bearing this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Semich
Among Census respondents with the surname Semich, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.1%. The next largest groups are Black (1.9%) and Two or More Races (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Semich 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 Semich surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.1% · 102
- Black or African American1.9% · 2
- Two or more races1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Semich
Semich 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
#137,327
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
-11 bearers (-8.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 16,997 places
2020
#152,989
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
-17 bearers (-13.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 15,662 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #120,330 | 133 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #137,327 | 122 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-8.3%) | Down 16,997 places |
| 2020 | #152,989 | 105 | 0.04 | -17 bearers (-13.9%) | Down 15,662 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 Semich 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 | #137,327 | #152,989 | -11.4% |
| Count | 122 | 105 | -13.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -12.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Semich bearers went from 122 to 105 (-13.9% change). The surname moved down 15,662 positions in the national ranking, going from #137,327 to #152,989.
FAQ
Semich surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Semich?
Name Census estimates that about 120 living Americans carry the surname Semich. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,856,286 residents.
How common is Semich?
Semich ranks #152,989 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 105 people with the surname Semich. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (120), 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 Semich.
Has Semich become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Semich went from 122 recorded bearers to 105. That is a decrease of 17 (-13.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #137,327 to #152,989.
What does the Census say about the background of Semich?
Among Census respondents with the surname Semich, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.1%. The next largest groups are Black (1.9%) and Two or More Races (1.0%). 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 Semich in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.1% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Semich appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.1%), Black (1.9%), Two or More Races (1.0%). 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 Semich (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 Semich mean?
A surname derived from a Slavic word meaning one who belongs to a family or community. 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 Semich (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 Semich?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Semich, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.