2000
#10,779
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,717
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.01
Rare Last name
Hain
A German and Jewish occupational surname referring to a grove or a person living near a grove.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,811 Americans carry the last name Hain. That puts it at #12,140 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.82 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 121,933 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hain 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 Hain with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.8K
1 in 121,933
Census rank
#12,140
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,451 bearers of the surname Hain in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.82 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12140th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hain, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hain
The surname Hain has its origins in Germany, with records dating back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old High German word "hagin," which means "hedged enclosure" or "small farm." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived on a small, enclosed farmstead.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hain appears in the Codex Traditionum Monasterii Sancti Michaelis Bambergensis, a 12th-century manuscript from the monastery of St. Michael in Bamberg, Germany. The document mentions a "Heinricus de Hagen," which likely refers to someone named Heinrich from the place called Hagen.
In the 13th century, the name Hain was found in various regions of present-day Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and Thuringia. The spelling variations included Hagen, Hayn, and Hain, reflecting regional dialects and scribal practices.
One notable bearer of the name Hain was Johann Hain (c. 1437-1505), a German printer and publisher from Nuremberg. He was one of the earliest printers in Germany and is credited with publishing over 500 works, including several incunabula (books printed before 1501).
Another distinguished individual with the surname Hain was Johann Hain (1592-1667), a German composer and organist from Nuremberg. He was a prominent figure in the development of the Nuremberg school of organ composition and served as the organist at the Sebalduskirche in Nuremberg.
In the realm of literature, Johann Michael Hain (1758-1819) was a German bibliographer and librarian. He compiled the Repertorium Bibliographicum, a monumental work that catalogued books published between 1501 and 1600, making it an invaluable resource for scholars and book collectors.
The name Hain has also been associated with place names in Germany, such as Hain (Rhineland-Palatinate), Hain (Saxony), and Hainburg (Hesse). These place names may have influenced the development and spread of the surname in various regions.
Throughout its history, the surname Hain has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including printers, composers, bibliographers, and farmers. While its origins can be traced back to the Middle Ages in Germany, the name has since spread and been adopted in other parts of the world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hain
Among Census respondents with the surname Hain, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Hain 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 Hain surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.5% · 2,217
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.0% · 74
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 71
- Two or more races2.2% · 54
- Black or African American1.1% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hain
Hain 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
#11,365
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,776
+59 bearers (+2.2%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Down 586 places
2020
#12,140
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,451
-325 bearers (-11.7%)
Per 100,000 0.82
Rank movement Down 775 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,779 | 2,717 | 1.01 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,365 | 2,776 | 0.94 | +59 bearers (+2.2%) | Down 586 places |
| 2020 | #12,140 | 2,451 | 0.82 | -325 bearers (-11.7%) | Down 775 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 Hain 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 | #11,365 | #12,140 | -6.8% |
| Count | 2,776 | 2,451 | -11.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.94 | 0.82 | -12.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hain bearers went from 2,776 to 2,451 (-11.7% change). The surname moved down 775 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,365 to #12,140.
FAQ
Hain surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hain?
Name Census estimates that about 2,811 living Americans carry the surname Hain. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 121,933 residents.
How common is Hain?
Hain ranks #12,140 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.82 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,451 people with the surname Hain. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,811), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.82 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.82 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Hain.
Has Hain become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hain went from 2,776 recorded bearers to 2,451. That is a decrease of 325 (-11.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,365 to #12,140.
What does the Census say about the background of Hain?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hain, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Hain in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.5% (2,217 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hain appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.0%), Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Hain (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 Hain mean?
A German and Jewish occupational surname referring to a grove or a person living near a grove. 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 Hain (0.82 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 Americans have the surname Hain?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.