Hensley
A masculine name of English origin derived from the surname meaning "hazel wood".
Name Census estimates that about 2,084 living Americans carry the first name Hensley. It is a predominantly female name (91.8% of registrations). The average person named Hensley today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hensley births was 2020 (226 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hensley. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Hensley is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 9 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
2.1K
~ 1 in 164,469 Americans
Peak year
2020
226 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,269
Tracked since 1916
Census
Hensley in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,463 people with the first name Hensley, which placed it at #9,484 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#9,484
National first-name rank
People counted
1.5K
1,463 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
75.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hensley
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hensley is White at 75.7%. The next largest groups are Black (9.8%) and Hispanic (7.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Hensley 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 name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Hensley at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.7% · 1,108
- Black or African American9.8% · 143
- Hispanic or Latino7.2% · 106
- Two or more races4.8% · 70
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 17
Gender
Gender distribution for Hensley
Hensley leans heavily female at 91.8% of total registrations, but 174 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Hensley as a male name
- Ranked #10,239 in 2024
- 7 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (16 births)
Hensley as a female name
- Ranked #2,269 in 2024
- 82 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2020 (221 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hensley leans strongly female. 1,194 people counted with this name were female (81.2%), compared with 276 male bearers (18.8%).
Popularity
Hensley: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hensley from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,200 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Hensley remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hensley by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Hensley during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hensleys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 28 states and territories. Texas, Tennessee, Georgia recorded the most babies named Hensley, while New York, Montana, Wisconsin recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 38 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hensley
The name Hensley is of English origin and has its roots in the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from a combination of the Old English words "henn," meaning "chicken," and "leah," meaning "meadow" or "woodland clearing." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a meadow or clearing where chickens were kept.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hensley can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name is listed as "Henneslegh," indicating its presence in medieval England.
In the 13th century, a Hensley family was recorded as landowners in the county of Staffordshire, England. This family likely played a role in perpetuating the name's usage throughout the centuries.
Historically, the name Hensley has been associated with individuals from various walks of life. One notable bearer of the name was John Hensley (c. 1550-1618), an English clergyman and author who served as the rector of Rendlesham in Suffolk.
Another prominent figure was Sir Robert Hensley (1789-1872), a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and later became a Member of Parliament.
In the realm of art, Hensley Stevens (1892-1976) was an American painter and printmaker known for his landscapes and cityscapes, particularly those depicting his native New England.
Moving to the world of literature, Hensley Peterson (1929-2005) was an acclaimed American novelist and short story writer whose works explored themes of family, relationships, and the human condition.
Lastly, Hensley Meulens (born 1967) is a former professional baseball player from Curaçao who played in Major League Baseball for several teams and later became a coach and manager in the league.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Hensley, showcasing its enduring presence across various cultures and professions.
People
Hensley + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hensley as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Hensley: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hensley?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,084 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hensley going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 164,469 US residents.
Is Hensley a common name?
We classify Hensley as "Rare". It ranks above 93.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,121 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hensley most popular?
The single biggest year for Hensley was 2020, when 226 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hensley is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hensley in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,463 people with the name Hensley, or 0.48 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,484 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Hensley in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Hensley?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hensley leans strongly female. 1,194 people counted with this name were female (81.2%), compared with 276 male bearers (18.8%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Hensley?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hensley is White at 75.7%. The next largest groups are Black (9.8%) and Hispanic (7.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Hensley most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Hensley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.7% (1,108 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Hensley in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hensley a female name?
Yes, 91.8% of people registered as Hensley in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Hensley still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hensley in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Hensley can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Hensley?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.