2000
#85,297
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 204
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.08
Very Rare Last name
Hackenberger
A German occupational surname meaning "one who cultivates land using a hoe or mattock."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 200 Americans carry the last name Hackenberger. That puts it at #108,494 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,713,772 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hackenberger 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
200
1 in 1,713,772
Census rank
#108,494
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
174
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 174 bearers of the surname Hackenberger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 108494th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hackenberger, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hackenberger
The surname HACKENBERGER is of German origin, originating in the medieval period. It is derived from the place name "Hackenberg," which means "hilly ridge" or "ridge overgrown with scrub" in German. This place name is still found in various regions of Germany, particularly in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate.
The earliest recorded instances of the HACKENBERGER surname can be traced back to the 15th century in various German regions. One of the earliest known bearers of this name was Hans Hackenberger, a farmer who lived in the village of Hackenberg near the town of Siegen in the late 15th century.
Another notable HACKENBERGER was Johann Hackenberger, a Protestant theologian and reformer who lived in the 16th century. He was born in Marburg, Hesse, in 1523 and played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation in Germany.
In the 17th century, the HACKENBERGER surname gained prominence in the region of Franconia, located in modern-day Bavaria. One notable figure from this period was Christoph Hackenberger, a master carpenter who was involved in the construction of several churches and public buildings in the city of Nuremberg between 1660 and 1690.
The 18th century saw the spread of the HACKENBERGER name across various German states and regions. One prominent bearer of this name was Johann Georg Hackenberger, a renowned clockmaker who lived in the town of Schramberg in the Black Forest region of Baden-Württemberg. His intricate clocks and timepieces were highly sought after and can be found in museums and private collections today.
In the 19th century, the HACKENBERGER surname gained recognition in the field of academia and literature. Notable figures from this period include Karl Hackenberger, a German philologist and professor at the University of Tübingen, who lived from 1819 to 1887, and Friedrich Hackenberger, a poet and writer born in Nuremberg in 1831.
While the HACKENBERGER name has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and immigration. However, the earliest recorded instances and historical references remain deeply rooted in the German regions mentioned above.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hackenberger
Among Census respondents with the surname Hackenberger, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Hackenberger 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 Hackenberger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.1% · 155
- Two or more races6.3% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.0% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino0.6% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hackenberger
Hackenberger 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
#98,982
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 183
-21 bearers (-10.3%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Down 13,685 places
2020
#108,494
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 174
-9 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Down 9,512 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #85,297 | 204 | 0.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #98,982 | 183 | 0.06 | -21 bearers (-10.3%) | Down 13,685 places |
| 2020 | #108,494 | 174 | 0.06 | -9 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 9,512 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 Hackenberger 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 | #98,982 | #108,494 | -9.6% |
| Count | 183 | 174 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.06 | 0.06 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hackenberger bearers went from 183 to 174 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 9,512 positions in the national ranking, going from #98,982 to #108,494.
FAQ
Hackenberger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hackenberger?
Name Census estimates that about 200 living Americans carry the surname Hackenberger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,713,772 residents.
How common is Hackenberger?
Hackenberger ranks #108,494 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.06 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 174 people with the surname Hackenberger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (200), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.06 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 Hackenberger.
Has Hackenberger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hackenberger went from 183 recorded bearers to 174. That is a decrease of 9 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #98,982 to #108,494.
What does the Census say about the background of Hackenberger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hackenberger, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.0%). 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 Hackenberger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (155 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hackenberger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.1%), Two or More Races (6.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (4.0%). 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 Hackenberger (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 Hackenberger mean?
A German occupational surname meaning "one who cultivates land using a hoe or mattock." 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 Hackenberger (0.06 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 last name Hackenberger?
See how many people are called Hackenberger on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.