2000
#5,473
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,840
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.16
Rare Last name
Hadden
From an English place name meaning "heather-covered valley," or from a Scottish nickname for a hoarder.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,916 Americans carry the last name Hadden. That puts it at #5,565 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.02 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 49,560 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hadden 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Hadden with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.9K
1 in 49,560
Census rank
#5,565
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,031 bearers of the surname Hadden in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.02 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5565th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hadden, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.0%. The next largest groups are Black (9.7%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hadden
The surname Hadden is of English origin, deriving from the Old English personal name Hada, which itself is a shortened form of various longer names beginning with the element "hād" meaning "person, degree, or rank." The name can be traced back to the 11th century in areas such as Yorkshire and Lancashire.
Hadden is believed to have evolved from the Old English place name Haddenhām, meaning "homestead or village of Hada's people." This place name is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Haddenha and Haddreham, indicating the early presence of the name in England.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Hadden is found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1166, where a William de Hadden is mentioned. In the 13th century, a Roger de Hadden is documented in the Assize Rolls of Lancashire from 1285.
The surname Hadden has also been associated with various place names throughout history, such as Haddenham in Buckinghamshire and Haddenham in Cambridgeshire. These place names likely contributed to the surname's development and spread across different regions.
Notable individuals with the surname Hadden include Sir George Hadden (1589-1672), an English politician and landowner who served as the Member of Parliament for Buckinghamshire in the 17th century. Another significant figure is Sir John Hadden (1670-1744), an English lawyer and judge who served as the Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer in the early 18th century.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Hadden was John Hadden, who arrived in Virginia in 1635. Later, in the 18th century, William Hadden (1748-1826) was a notable American politician who served as a member of the Massachusetts legislature and as a delegate to the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention.
Another notable American with the surname Hadden was Robert M. Hadden (1838-1903), a Union Army officer during the American Civil War who received the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Jonesborough in Georgia in 1864.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hadden
Among Census respondents with the surname Hadden, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.0%. The next largest groups are Black (9.7%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Hadden 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 Hadden surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.0% · 5,003
- Black or African American9.7% · 588
- Two or more races3.7% · 223
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 152
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 42
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 23
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hadden
Hadden 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
#5,281
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,593
+753 bearers (+12.9%)
Per 100,000 2.24
Rank movement Up 192 places
2020
#5,565
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,031
-562 bearers (-8.5%)
Per 100,000 2.02
Rank movement Down 284 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,473 | 5,840 | 2.16 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,281 | 6,593 | 2.24 | +753 bearers (+12.9%) | Up 192 places |
| 2020 | #5,565 | 6,031 | 2.02 | -562 bearers (-8.5%) | Down 284 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 Hadden 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 | #5,281 | #5,565 | -5.4% |
| Count | 6,593 | 6,031 | -8.5% |
| Per 100K | 2.24 | 2.02 | -9.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hadden bearers went from 6,593 to 6,031 (-8.5% change). The surname moved down 284 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,281 to #5,565.
FAQ
Hadden surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hadden?
Name Census estimates that about 6,916 living Americans carry the surname Hadden. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 49,560 residents.
How common is Hadden?
Hadden ranks #5,565 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.02 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,031 people with the surname Hadden. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,916), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.02 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.02 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Hadden.
Has Hadden become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hadden went from 6,593 recorded bearers to 6,031. That is a decrease of 562 (-8.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,281 to #5,565.
What does the Census say about the background of Hadden?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hadden, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.0%. The next largest groups are Black (9.7%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Hadden in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.0% (5,003 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hadden appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.0%), Black (9.7%), Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Hadden (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 Hadden mean?
From an English place name meaning "heather-covered valley," or from a Scottish nickname for a hoarder. 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 Hadden (2.02 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 Hadden?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.