2000
#139,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Bachhofer
A German habitational surname derived from a place meaning "stream in a small valley".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Bachhofer. 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 Bachhofer 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 Bachhofer 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 Bachhofer, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bachhofer
The surname Bachhofer originated in Germany during the late medieval period. It is derived from the German words "bach," meaning stream or brook, and "hofer," which refers to a settlement or dwelling near a stream. Initially, the name would have been used to identify individuals residing in such locations.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Bachhofer surname can be traced back to the 14th century in the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, located in the region of Franconia, Germany. In 1382, a document mentions a certain Heinrich Bachhofer, indicating the name's existence during that time.
Throughout the 15th and 16th centuries, the Bachhofer name appeared in various German records, such as parish registers and tax rolls. Some notable individuals bearing this surname include Johannes Bachhofer (1515-1578), a Lutheran theologian and reformer from Nuremberg, and Hans Bachhofer (1543-1619), a prominent merchant and city councilor in Augsburg.
In the 17th century, the name Bachhofer can be found in the records of several German states, including Bavaria, Saxony, and Württemberg. One notable figure from this period was Georg Bachhofer (1623-1690), a German jurist and professor of law at the University of Jena.
As the Bachhofer family spread across Germany and beyond, variations in the spelling of the name emerged, such as Bachofer, Bachhoffer, and Bachhoffer. In the 18th century, Johann Bachhofer (1707-1773), a German cartographer and engraver, gained recognition for his detailed maps of various regions.
The 19th century saw the Bachhofer name continuing to appear in German records, with individuals like Karl Bachhofer (1812-1888), a prominent lawyer and politician from Bavaria, and Ludwig Bachhofer (1853-1913), a German painter known for his landscape and genre works.
While the Bachhofer surname originated in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to migration and diaspora. However, its roots can be traced back to the German regions where it first emerged, reflecting the geographic and linguistic origins of this distinctive surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bachhofer
Among Census respondents with the surname Bachhofer, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Bachhofer 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 Bachhofer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.7% · 98
- Hispanic or Latino5.6% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bachhofer
Bachhofer 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
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+11 bearers (+10.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 1,453 places
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-13 bearers (-10.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,631 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #139,757 | 110 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | +11 bearers (+10.0%) | Up 1,453 places |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | -13 bearers (-10.7%) | Down 12,631 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 Bachhofer 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 | #138,304 | #150,935 | -9.1% |
| Count | 121 | 108 | -10.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -9.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bachhofer bearers went from 121 to 108 (-10.7% change). The surname moved down 12,631 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #150,935.
FAQ
Bachhofer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bachhofer?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Bachhofer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Bachhofer?
Bachhofer 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 Bachhofer. 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 Bachhofer.
Has Bachhofer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bachhofer went from 121 recorded bearers to 108. That is a decrease of 13 (-10.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Bachhofer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bachhofer, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%). 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 Bachhofer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.7% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bachhofer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.7%), Hispanic (5.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%). 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 Bachhofer (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 Bachhofer mean?
A German habitational surname derived from a place meaning "stream in a small valley". 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 Bachhofer (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 have the surname Bachhofer?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.