2000
#1,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,710
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.68
Uncommon Last name
Hadley
From an English place name meaning "heather field," referring to a meadow where heather grows.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 24,439 Americans carry the last name Hadley. That puts it at #1,640 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.13 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 14,025 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hadley 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 Hadley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
24K
1 in 14,025
Census rank
#1,640
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
21K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 21,312 bearers of the surname Hadley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.13 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1640th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hadley, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.5%. The next largest groups are Black (14.6%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hadley
The surname Hadley is of Anglo-Saxon origin, derived from an Old English locational name meaning "the heathy clearing" or "the heather-covered meadow". It is composed of the elements "hæth" (heath) and "leah" (meadow or clearing).
The name is believed to have originated in the county of Shropshire, England, where several places bear the name Hadley. One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions a landowner named Ailric de Haddeleie in Shropshire.
During the Middle Ages, the name was often spelled in various ways, including Hadeleye, Haddelegh, and Hadleigh, reflecting the regional dialects and scribal variations of the time.
One notable figure bearing the Hadley surname was John Hadley (1682-1744), an English mathematician and inventor who is best known for developing the octant, a precursor to the sextant used in navigation.
Another prominent individual with this surname was Stephen Hadley (c. 1592-1660), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament and was a supporter of the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War.
In the United States, one of the earliest known bearers of the Hadley surname was George Hadley (1685-1768), an English lawyer and meteorologist who developed the theory of atmospheric circulation now known as the Hadley Cell.
The name Hadley has also been associated with several places in the United States, such as Hadley, Massachusetts, founded in 1659 and named after the town of Hadleigh in Suffolk, England.
Other notable individuals with the Hadley surname include Henry Hetherington Hadley (1871-1937), an American composer and conductor, and Herbert Hadley (1863-1937), an American lawyer and politician who served as the 25th Governor of Missouri.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hadley
Among Census respondents with the surname Hadley, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.5%. The next largest groups are Black (14.6%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Hadley 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 Hadley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.5% · 15,881
- Black or African American14.6% · 3,105
- Two or more races4.2% · 888
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 673
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 403
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 362
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hadley
Hadley 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
#1,653
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,771
+1,061 bearers (+5.1%)
Per 100,000 7.38
Rank movement Down 63 places
2020
#1,640
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,312
-459 bearers (-2.1%)
Per 100,000 7.13
Rank movement Up 13 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,590 | 20,710 | 7.68 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,653 | 21,771 | 7.38 | +1,061 bearers (+5.1%) | Down 63 places |
| 2020 | #1,640 | 21,312 | 7.13 | -459 bearers (-2.1%) | Up 13 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 Hadley 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 | #1,653 | #1,640 | 0.8% |
| Count | 21,771 | 21,312 | -2.1% |
| Per 100K | 7.38 | 7.13 | -3.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hadley bearers went from 21,771 to 21,312 (-2.1% change). The surname moved up 13 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,653 to #1,640.
FAQ
Hadley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hadley?
Name Census estimates that about 24,439 living Americans carry the surname Hadley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 14,025 residents.
How common is Hadley?
Hadley ranks #1,640 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.13 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 21,312 people with the surname Hadley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (24,439), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.13 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.13 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Hadley.
Has Hadley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hadley went from 21,771 recorded bearers to 21,312. That is a decrease of 459 (-2.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #1,653 to #1,640.
What does the Census say about the background of Hadley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hadley, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.5%. The next largest groups are Black (14.6%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Hadley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.5% (15,881 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hadley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.5%), Black (14.6%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Hadley (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 Hadley mean?
From an English place name meaning "heather field," referring to a meadow where heather grows. 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 Hadley (7.13 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 common is the surname Hadley?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Hadley, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.