Find out how popular the last name Slick is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Slick.

Slick, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Slick surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Slick in America

Slick is the 16856th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Slick surname appeared 1,693 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Slick.

We can also compare 2010 data for Slick to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Slick

The surname SLICK is of English origin and can be traced back to the late 16th century. It is derived from the Old English word "slician," which means "to make smooth or glossy." The name likely referred to someone who worked as a clothier or a person responsible for smoothing and polishing cloth.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the parish records of St. Botolph's Church in Bishopsgate, London, in 1593, where a baptismal entry mentions a "John Slick." This suggests that the name was present in the London area during the Elizabethan era.

In the Hearth Tax Rolls of 1673, a document recording households and their taxable hearths, there are several entries for the name SLICK in various spellings, such as "Slycke" and "Slycke." These records indicate that the name was well-established in various parts of England by the late 17th century.

The SLICK surname has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One prominent figure was Sir William Slick (1609-1679), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Salisbury during the reign of Charles II. He was a staunch supporter of the monarchy and played a significant role in the restoration of the Stuart dynasty.

Another notable SLICK was John Slick (1720-1795), an English poet and playwright who gained recognition for his satirical works and theatrical productions. His play "The Satirical Mirror," performed in London in 1765, was a critical success and established him as a prominent literary figure of his time.

In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the SLICK surname can be found in the colonial records of Virginia, where a Thomas Slick is listed as a landowner in 1642. This suggests that the name had already reached the American colonies by the mid-17th century.

One of the most famous individuals with the SLICK surname was Robert Slick (1842-1923), an American businessman and industrialist who made his fortune in the oil industry. He founded the Slick Oil Company in Pennsylvania and played a significant role in the development of the petroleum industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Another notable SLICK was Emily Slick (1876-1964), an American educator and activist who campaigned for women's rights and helped establish several educational institutions in the Northeastern United States. She was a prominent figure in the suffragette movement and worked tirelessly to promote equal educational opportunities for women.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Slick

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Slick.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Slick was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Slick has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Slick was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Slick, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!