Explore the Family Name Horace
The meaning of Horace
English (Lancashire): probably in most instances a variant of Orridge, itself ultimately a variant of Horwich, with sibilation of the final palatal consonant to /ʃ/ and /s/ to give (H)orrish and (H)orris. It was sometimes associated with the personal name Horace in modern times by folk etymology, and perhaps in some cases did arise from the Middle English personal name Orace (from Latin Horatius, possibly of Etruscan origin and associated chiefly with the name of the Roman poet Quintus Horatius Flaccus (65–8 BC)), but this name was exceptionally rare in medieval England and is unlikely to be the main source of the surname. In some cases the name may have arisen from the Middle English personal name Ordrich, Orrich (Old English Ordrīc, from ord ‘point, spear’ + rīc ‘power, realm’), with post-medieval voicing of the final consonant to give Orridge and later Horace.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Horace in the United States?
According to the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Horace has somewhat lessened. In 2000, Horace was ranked 15,309 in terms of prevalence but this dropped to 16,437 by 2010, indicating a decrease of 7.37%. The count of individuals carrying the Horace surname also slightly declined from 1,762 in 2000 to 1,750 in 2010, a minor drop of 0.68%. The proportion of people with this surname per 100k also decreased by 9.23% over the decade.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #15,309 | #16,437 | -7.37% |
| Count | 1,762 | 1,750 | -0.68% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.65 | 0.59 | -9.23% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Horace
On examining the ethnic identity associated with the Horace surname from the Decennial U.S. Census data, there have been some notable shifts between 2000 and 2010. The largest group identifying as Horace is Black, increasing from 69.58% in 2000 to 75.09% in 2010. Those identifying as White saw a significant decrease from 24.86% to 17.66%. The Two or More Races category experienced an increase of 43.72%, while Hispanic rose by 28.57% and American Indian and Alaskan Native increased by 20.42%. The Asian/Pacific Islander category remained constant throughout the decade at 0.34%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 69.58% | 75.09% | 7.92% |
| White | 24.86% | 17.66% | -28.96% |
| Two or More Races | 1.99% | 2.86% | 43.72% |
| Hispanic | 1.82% | 2.34% | 28.57% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 1.42% | 1.71% | 20.42% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.34% | 0.34% | 0% |