The Horst surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 9,245 people carried this name — #3,831 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 31,900 people counted. That is up 13% from 8,208 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Horst surname
Borrowed from German and Dutch Horst.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Horst» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 502 people named Horst live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Entre Ríos.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
210 people named Horst live in Switzerland.
They live in 13 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Bern.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Poland’s population register
197 people named Horst have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 256 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 9 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Silesian.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 69 people named Horst.
26 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 14 départements, most often Bas-Rhin.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In the Nordic population registers
48 people named Horst is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
In print
Horst in American newspapers,
1914.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 78,521 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Horst,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Jacob Horst 1537–1600 · dentist -
Gregor Horst 1578–1636 · physician -
Peter Horst d. 1591 · printer
-
Dethard Horst 1548–1618 · university teacher
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Heinrich Adolph Horst 1569–1632 · physician
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Johann Nicolaus Horst 1601–1685 · theologian
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 8 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Horst.
- Horneck 191 · U.S. census
- Hornecker 281 · U.S. census
- Horner 23,881 · U.S. census
- Hornung 2,830 · U.S. census
- Horny 132 · U.S. census
- Horry 386 · U.S. census
- Horta 3,889 · U.S. census
- Horter 309 · U.S. census
- Horth 215 · U.S. census
- Horvat 1,674 · U.S. census
- Horvath 15,302 · U.S. census
- Hoss 3,033 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Horst is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.