2000
#12,145
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,355
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.87
Rare Last name
Hackbarth
A German habitational surname referring to someone living near a hill or mountain covered in oak trees.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,578 Americans carry the last name Hackbarth. That puts it at #13,045 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 132,954 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hackbarth 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
2.6K
1 in 132,954
Census rank
#13,045
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,248 bearers of the surname Hackbarth in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13045th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hackbarth, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (1.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hackbarth
The surname Hackbarth is believed to have originated in Germany, with the earliest records tracing it back to the 16th century. The name is thought to be derived from the Middle Low German words "hack" and "bard," which together mean "a person who lives near a wooded hill."
One of the earliest known references to the Hackbarth name can be found in a document from the town of Magdeburg, dated 1562, which mentions a certain Hans Hackbarth as a landowner in the area. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by that time.
Another notable historical figure bearing the Hackbarth surname was Johann Hackbarth (1607-1679), a German theologian and author who wrote several influential works on Protestant theology during the 17th century.
In the 18th century, the Hackbarth name appears in records from the town of Lübeck, where a family of merchants and tradesmen with the surname lived and worked. One member of this family, Christoph Hackbarth (1723-1795), was a respected merchant and civic leader in the city.
As the name spread across Germany and into neighboring regions, it took on various spellings, such as Hackbart, Hackbardt, and Hakbart. In some areas, the name was also associated with specific place names, such as Hackbarth bei Cottbus, a village in Brandenburg.
Among the notable individuals with the Hackbarth surname in more recent history are:
1. Friedrich Hackbarth (1813-1889), a German writer and journalist who published several works on literature and culture.
2. Karl Hackbarth (1870-1948), a German architect known for his work on various public buildings in Berlin and other cities.
3. Erich Hackbarth (1905-1986), a German-American artist and painter who immigrated to the United States in the 1930s and became known for his abstract expressionist works.
4. Hermann Hackbarth (1908-1992), a German Olympic athlete who competed in the high jump and won a silver medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
5. Rolf Hackbarth (born 1937), a German composer and conductor who has written numerous works for orchestra, chamber ensembles, and solo instruments.
While the Hackbarth surname has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to many other parts of the world, particularly through emigration in the 19th and 20th centuries. However, its origins can be traced back to the Germanic regions of central Europe, where it has a long and rich history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hackbarth
Among Census respondents with the surname Hackbarth, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (1.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Hackbarth 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 Hackbarth surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.2% · 2,118
- Two or more races3.3% · 75
- Hispanic or Latino1.5% · 33
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 16
- Black or African American0.2% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hackbarth
Hackbarth 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
#12,894
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,385
+30 bearers (+1.3%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Down 749 places
2020
#13,045
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,248
-137 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Down 151 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,145 | 2,355 | 0.87 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,894 | 2,385 | 0.81 | +30 bearers (+1.3%) | Down 749 places |
| 2020 | #13,045 | 2,248 | 0.75 | -137 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 151 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 Hackbarth 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 | #12,894 | #13,045 | -1.2% |
| Count | 2,385 | 2,248 | -5.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.81 | 0.75 | -7.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hackbarth bearers went from 2,385 to 2,248 (-5.7% change). The surname moved down 151 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,894 to #13,045.
FAQ
Hackbarth surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hackbarth?
Name Census estimates that about 2,578 living Americans carry the surname Hackbarth. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 132,954 residents.
How common is Hackbarth?
Hackbarth ranks #13,045 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,248 people with the surname Hackbarth. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,578), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.75 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Hackbarth.
Has Hackbarth become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hackbarth went from 2,385 recorded bearers to 2,248. That is a decrease of 137 (-5.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,894 to #13,045.
What does the Census say about the background of Hackbarth?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hackbarth, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (1.5%). 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 Hackbarth in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.2% (2,118 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hackbarth appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.2%), Two or More Races (3.3%), Hispanic (1.5%). 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 Hackbarth (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 Hackbarth mean?
A German habitational surname referring to someone living near a hill or mountain covered in oak trees. 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 Hackbarth (0.75 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 share the surname Hackbarth?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.