2010
#160,975
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Selick
A derived surname potentially referring to someone from the German town of Selicke.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Selick. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Selick 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
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Selick in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Selick, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.4%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Selick
The surname Selick originated in Germany, with the earliest known records dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "selig," meaning "blessed" or "happy." The name was initially associated with individuals who were considered to be in a state of contentment or good fortune.
One of the earliest documented instances of the name Selick can be found in the parish records of the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, located in the region of Franconia, Germany. In 1587, a man named Hans Selick was recorded as a local resident and tradesman.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Selick name spread across various regions of Germany, particularly in the southern and central areas. Several notable individuals from this period bore the surname, including Johann Selick (1623-1697), a respected theologian and author from the city of Nuremberg, and Anna Selick (1671-1738), a prominent philanthropist who established a charitable foundation in the town of Bamberg.
As Germans began to emigrate to other parts of Europe and the Americas in the 19th century, the Selick name traveled with them. In 1842, a family by the name of Selick settled in the town of Grimsby, located in the English county of Lincolnshire, where they established a successful fishing business.
One of the most famous individuals with the surname Selick was Henry Selick (1952-), an American stop-motion animator and film director. Selick is best known for his work on acclaimed films such as "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (1993) and "Coraline" (2009). He was born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, and his ancestors can be traced back to German immigrants who arrived in the United States in the late 19th century.
Other notable individuals with the surname Selick include:
- Wilhelm Selick (1876-1942), a German politician and member of the Reichstag in the early 20th century.
- Maria Selick (1902-1987), an Austrian opera singer and celebrated mezzo-soprano.
- Otto Selick (1915-2003), a German-American scientist and pioneer in the field of nuclear physics.
- Katharina Selick (1932-2017), a German artist renowned for her abstract expressionist paintings.
While the surname Selick may not be among the most common in the world, its history can be traced back centuries, with its roots firmly embedded in the cultural and linguistic traditions of Germany.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Selick
Among Census respondents with the surname Selick, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.4%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Selick 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 Selick surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.0% · 94
- Hispanic or Latino7.4% · 8
- Two or more races2.8% · 3
- Black or African American1.9% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Selick
Selick appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
+8 bearers (+8.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 10,040 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #160,975 | 100 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+8.0%) | Up 10,040 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 Selick 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 | #160,975 | #150,935 | 6.2% |
| Count | 100 | 108 | 8.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 20.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Selick bearers went from 100 to 108 (+8.0% change). The surname moved up 10,040 positions in the national ranking, going from #160,975 to #150,935.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Selick
FAQ
Selick surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Selick?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Selick. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Selick?
Selick ranks #150,935 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 108 people with the surname Selick. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), 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 Selick.
Has Selick become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Selick went from 100 recorded bearers to 108. That is an increase of 8 (+8.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #160,975 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Selick?
Among Census respondents with the surname Selick, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.4%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Selick in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.0% (94 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Selick appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.0%), Hispanic (7.4%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Selick (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 Selick mean?
A derived surname potentially referring to someone from the German town of Selicke. 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 Selick (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 Selick?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Selick at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.