2000
#116,123
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 139
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Trotsky
A Russian surname derived from the term "trotskij" meaning driver or carter.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 117 Americans carry the last name Trotsky. That puts it at #154,755 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,929,524 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Trotsky 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
117
1 in 2,929,524
Census rank
#154,755
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
102
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 102 bearers of the surname Trotsky in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154755th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Trotsky, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Trotsky
The surname Trotsky has its origins in Russia, dating back to the late 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Russian word "trot," meaning "path" or "trail." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a well-trodden path or a traveler.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Trotsky can be found in the Velizh census book of 1593, where a person named Trofim Trotsky was listed. The name also appears in the Novgorod tax registers from the 17th century, with various spellings such as Trotskiy and Trotskoi.
In the 18th century, the Trotsky name gained prominence with the birth of Ivan Trotsky (1722-1787), a Russian nobleman and military officer who served under Empress Catherine the Great. His son, Vasily Trotsky (1761-1832), was a renowned writer and historian.
The most famous individual bearing the Trotsky surname is undoubtedly Leon Trotsky (1879-1940), a Marxist revolutionary and theorist who played a leading role in the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. He served as the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs and the founder and commander of the Red Army during the early years of the Soviet Union.
Other notable individuals with the Trotsky surname include Natalia Trotsky (1888-1962), the second wife of Leon Trotsky and a prominent Soviet revolutionary in her own right. Lev Davidovich Trotsky (1913-1990) was a Soviet physicist and academic, known for his contributions to the fields of nuclear physics and solid-state physics.
It is worth mentioning that the name Trotsky has also been associated with several place names in Russia. For example, there is a village called Trotskoe in the Voronezh Oblast and a town called Trotsk in the Chelyabinsk Oblast.
While the Trotsky surname has a rich history in Russia, it has also gained recognition worldwide due to the influence and legacy of Leon Trotsky and his involvement in the Russian Revolution and the establishment of the Soviet Union.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Trotsky
Among Census respondents with the surname Trotsky, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Trotsky 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 Trotsky surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.2% · 92
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.9% · 3
- Two or more races2.0% · 2
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Trotsky
Trotsky 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
#158,432
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
-37 bearers (-26.6%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 42,309 places
2020
#154,755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 3,677 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #116,123 | 139 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #158,432 | 102 | 0.03 | -37 bearers (-26.6%) | Down 42,309 places |
| 2020 | #154,755 | 102 | 0.03 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Up 3,677 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 Trotsky 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 | #158,432 | #154,755 | 2.3% |
| Count | 102 | 102 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 13.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Trotsky bearers went from 102 to 102 (+0.0% change). The surname moved up 3,677 positions in the national ranking, going from #158,432 to #154,755.
FAQ
Trotsky surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Trotsky?
Name Census estimates that about 117 living Americans carry the surname Trotsky. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,929,524 residents.
How common is Trotsky?
Trotsky ranks #154,755 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 102 people with the surname Trotsky. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (117), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Trotsky.
Has Trotsky become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Trotsky went from 102 recorded bearers to 102. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #158,432 to #154,755.
What does the Census say about the background of Trotsky?
Among Census respondents with the surname Trotsky, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.9%). 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 Trotsky in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.2% (92 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Trotsky appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.2%), Hispanic (3.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.9%). 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 Trotsky (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 Trotsky mean?
A Russian surname derived from the term "trotskij" meaning driver or carter. 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 Trotsky (0.03 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 Americans have the surname Trotsky?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.