2000
#1,611
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,422
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.57
Uncommon Last name
Hager
An occupational surname referring to a person who makes or sells hedges or fences.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 23,249 Americans carry the last name Hager. That puts it at #1,728 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.78 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 14,743 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hager 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 Hager with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
23K
1 in 14,743
Census rank
#1,728
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
20K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 20,274 bearers of the surname Hager in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.78 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1728th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hager, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hager
The surname Hager has its origins in Germany and can be traced back to the 13th century. The name is derived from the Old German word "hag," which means "hedge" or "enclosure." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this name may have lived near a hedge or worked as hedge-makers or fence-builders.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hager is found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of medieval documents from the region of Saxony, dating back to the year 1285. The name is mentioned in reference to a certain "Henricus Hager," suggesting that the surname was already established by that time.
During the Middle Ages, the Hager name appeared in various records and manuscripts across Germany. For instance, in the Bürgermatrikel (citizen registers) of the city of Nuremberg, several individuals with the surname Hager are listed in the 15th and 16th centuries.
One notable figure in the history of the Hager name is Johann Hager (1554-1614), a German physician and botanist from Saxony. He is known for his work on medicinal plants and his contributions to the field of pharmacology.
Another prominent individual with the Hager surname is Johann Georg Hager (1709-1780), a German philosopher and theologian from Saxony-Anhalt. He was a professor at the University of Leipzig and authored several works on theology and philosophy.
In the 18th century, the name Hager was also found in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria and Württemberg. For example, Johann Michael Hager (1732-1804) was a renowned architect and urban planner from Württemberg, responsible for designing several notable buildings in the city of Stuttgart.
The Hager surname can also be traced to its variants, such as Hagger, Hagher, and Haeger, which appear in historical records from different parts of Germany and neighboring regions.
One notable individual with a variant spelling of the name is Johann Haggerty (1652-1700), a German-born Jesuit missionary and linguist who worked among the indigenous peoples of New France (present-day Canada and the United States). He is known for his contributions to the study of Native American languages.
Another figure of note is Johann Haeger (1668-1749), a German architect and sculptor from Bavaria, who was renowned for his work on various churches and palaces in the Baroque and Rococo styles.
These examples illustrate the long and diverse history of the Hager surname, spanning different regions of Germany and various professions and fields of expertise over several centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hager
Among Census respondents with the surname Hager, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Hager 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 Hager surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.2% · 18,489
- Two or more races3.6% · 726
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 520
- Black or African American1.6% · 321
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 138
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 80
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hager
Hager 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
#1,707
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,106
+684 bearers (+3.3%)
Per 100,000 7.16
Rank movement Down 96 places
2020
#1,728
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,274
-832 bearers (-3.9%)
Per 100,000 6.78
Rank movement Down 21 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,611 | 20,422 | 7.57 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,707 | 21,106 | 7.16 | +684 bearers (+3.3%) | Down 96 places |
| 2020 | #1,728 | 20,274 | 6.78 | -832 bearers (-3.9%) | Down 21 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 Hager 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 | #1,707 | #1,728 | -1.2% |
| Count | 21,106 | 20,274 | -3.9% |
| Per 100K | 7.16 | 6.78 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hager bearers went from 21,106 to 20,274 (-3.9% change). The surname moved down 21 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,707 to #1,728.
FAQ
Hager surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hager?
Name Census estimates that about 23,249 living Americans carry the surname Hager. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 14,743 residents.
How common is Hager?
Hager ranks #1,728 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.78 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 20,274 people with the surname Hager. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (23,249), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.78 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.78 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 Hager.
Has Hager become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hager went from 21,106 recorded bearers to 20,274. That is a decrease of 832 (-3.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,707 to #1,728.
What does the Census say about the background of Hager?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hager, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Hager in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.2% (18,489 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hager appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.2%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Hager (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 Hager mean?
An occupational surname referring to a person who makes or sells hedges or fences. 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 Hager (6.78 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 are called Hager?
See how many people have the last name Hager on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.