2000
#127,186
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Salic
A surname derived from the French region of Salic in Normandy.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 240 Americans carry the last name Salic. That puts it at #93,963 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,428,143 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Salic 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
240
1 in 1,428,143
Census rank
#93,963
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
209
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 209 bearers of the surname Salic in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 93963rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Salic, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (40.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Salic
The surname SALIC is of French origin, deriving from the Old French word "salic" which referred to the Salian Franks, a Germanic tribe that settled in the region of modern-day France and Belgium during the 5th century.
The name is associated with the Salic Law, an ancient legal principle that governed the inheritance of certain territories within the Frankish kingdom. This law prohibited females from inheriting certain lands and titles, a practice that was later adopted by other European monarchies.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name SALIC can be found in the 12th century manuscript "Liber Feudorum Maior", which contained a collection of laws and customs related to feudal tenure. In this document, the term "lex salica" is used to refer to the Salic Law.
During the Middle Ages, the name SALIC was primarily found in northern France and the Low Countries. It is believed to have originated as a surname in the region of Artois, where the Salic Law was particularly influential.
Notable individuals with the surname SALIC include Jean Salic (c. 1490-1560), a French jurist and legal scholar who wrote extensively on the Salic Law and its implications for the French monarchy. Another prominent figure was Pierre Salic (1554-1616), a French theologian and writer who served as a canon of the cathedral of Rouen.
In the 17th century, the name SALIC gained further prominence due to the ongoing debates surrounding the application of the Salic Law in the succession to the French throne. During this period, Louis XIV (1638-1715), the Sun King, invoked the Salic Law to exclude the claims of his nephew, Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, and his descendants from inheriting the French crown.
Other notable individuals with the surname SALIC include Charles Salic (1718-1789), a French architect who designed several notable buildings in Paris, and Émilie Salic (1799-1865), a French painter and portraitist who was active in the early 19th century.
While the surname SALIC is not as common today as it once was, it remains an important part of French historical and legal tradition, reflecting the enduring influence of the Salic Law on the development of European monarchies and systems of inheritance.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Salic
Among Census respondents with the surname Salic, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (40.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Salic 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 Salic surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White56.0% · 117
- Hispanic or Latino40.2% · 84
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 3
- Two or more races1.4% · 3
- Black or African American0.5% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Salic
Salic 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
#97,210
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 187
+63 bearers (+50.8%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Up 29,976 places
2020
#93,963
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 209
+22 bearers (+11.8%)
Per 100,000 0.07
Rank movement Up 3,247 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #127,186 | 124 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #97,210 | 187 | 0.06 | +63 bearers (+50.8%) | Up 29,976 places |
| 2020 | #93,963 | 209 | 0.07 | +22 bearers (+11.8%) | Up 3,247 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 Salic 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 | #97,210 | #93,963 | 3.3% |
| Count | 187 | 209 | 11.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.06 | 0.07 | 16.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Salic bearers went from 187 to 209 (+11.8% change). The surname moved up 3,247 positions in the national ranking, going from #97,210 to #93,963.
FAQ
Salic surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Salic?
Name Census estimates that about 240 living Americans carry the surname Salic. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,428,143 residents.
How common is Salic?
Salic ranks #93,963 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.07 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 209 people with the surname Salic. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (240), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.07 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.07 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 Salic.
Has Salic become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Salic went from 187 recorded bearers to 209. That is an increase of 22 (+11.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #97,210 to #93,963.
What does the Census say about the background of Salic?
Among Census respondents with the surname Salic, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (40.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.4%). 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 Salic in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.0% (117 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Salic appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (56.0%), Hispanic (40.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.4%). 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 Salic (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 Salic mean?
A surname derived from the French region of Salic in Normandy. 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 Salic (0.07 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 share the surname Salic?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.