Hager last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Hager is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Hager.

Meaning of Hager

An occupational surname referring to a person who makes or sells hedges or fences.

Hager, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Hager surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hager in America

Hager is the 1707th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hager surname appeared 21,106 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 7 people would have the surname Hager.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hager to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 1707 1611 5.79%
Count 21,106 20,422 3.29%
Proportion per 100k 7.16 7.57 -5.57%

The history of the last name 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.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hager

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Hager.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Hager was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 94.35% 19,914
Non-Hispanic Black Only 1.36% 287
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.50% 106
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.45% 95
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.44% 304
Hispanic Origin 1.89% 399

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Hager has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 94.35% 95.49% -1.20%
Black 1.36% 1.27% 6.84%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.50% 0.45% 10.53%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.45% 0.45% 0.00%
Two or More Races 1.44% 1.08% 28.57%
Hispanic 1.89% 1.26% 40.00%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Hager was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Hager, please contact us.

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Hager last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 3, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/hager-surname-popularity/.

"Hager last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/hager-surname-popularity/. Accessed 3 October, 2024

Hager last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/hager-surname-popularity/.

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