2000
#9,641
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,094
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.15
Rare Last name
Hamlet
Derived from a place name meaning "homestead" or "village" in Old English and Old French.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,542 Americans carry the last name Hamlet. That puts it at #9,968 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 96,769 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hamlet 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 Hamlet with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.5K
1 in 96,769
Census rank
#9,968
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,089 bearers of the surname Hamlet in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9968th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hamlet, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.0%. The next largest groups are Black (33.8%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hamlet
The surname Hamlet is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "hām" meaning "homestead" and "lēah" meaning "a meadow or clearing." It was likely first used as a topographic name for someone who lived in a homestead or hamlet situated in a clearing or meadow.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Hamlet dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Hameleth" and "Hamelet." This suggests that the name was already in use in England before the Norman Conquest of 1066.
During the Middle Ages, the name Hamlet was primarily found in the counties of Warwickshire, Worcestershire, and Gloucestershire in the West Midlands region of England. It was often associated with small villages or hamlets in these areas.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Hamlet was William Hamlet, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1195. Another early bearer of the name was John de Hamelet, recorded in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1292.
In the 16th century, the surname Hamlet was sometimes spelled as "Hamlett" or "Hamlette." One notable individual with this spelling was Humphrey Hamlett, born around 1540, who was a renowned English clergyman and author.
The most famous bearer of the name Hamlet is, of course, the tragic protagonist of William Shakespeare's play "The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark," written around 1600. Although the name was likely chosen for its symbolic meaning of "homestead" or "village," Shakespeare's use of it in his iconic work has forever tied it to the character of the melancholic Prince of Denmark.
Other notable individuals with the surname Hamlet include Sir Benjamin Hamlet, an English physician and author who lived from 1586 to 1644, and John Hamlet, a 17th-century English playwright and dramatist whose works were performed at the Red Bull Theatre in London.
In the 19th century, the Hamlet surname was found in various parts of England, as well as in the United States, where it had been carried by English immigrants. One notable American bearer of the name was Samuel Hamlet, born in 1799, who served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates and the United States House of Representatives.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hamlet
Among Census respondents with the surname Hamlet, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.0%. The next largest groups are Black (33.8%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Hamlet 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 Hamlet surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.0% · 1,791
- Black or African American33.8% · 1,045
- Two or more races3.9% · 119
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 107
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hamlet
Hamlet 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
#9,994
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,227
+133 bearers (+4.3%)
Per 100,000 1.09
Rank movement Down 353 places
2020
#9,968
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,089
-138 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 1.03
Rank movement Up 26 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,641 | 3,094 | 1.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,994 | 3,227 | 1.09 | +133 bearers (+4.3%) | Down 353 places |
| 2020 | #9,968 | 3,089 | 1.03 | -138 bearers (-4.3%) | Up 26 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 Hamlet 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 | #9,994 | #9,968 | 0.3% |
| Count | 3,227 | 3,089 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.09 | 1.03 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hamlet bearers went from 3,227 to 3,089 (-4.3% change). The surname moved up 26 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,994 to #9,968.
FAQ
Hamlet surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hamlet?
Name Census estimates that about 3,542 living Americans carry the surname Hamlet. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 96,769 residents.
How common is Hamlet?
Hamlet ranks #9,968 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.03 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 3,089 people with the surname Hamlet. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,542), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.03 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 Hamlet.
Has Hamlet become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hamlet went from 3,227 recorded bearers to 3,089. That is a decrease of 138 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,994 to #9,968.
What does the Census say about the background of Hamlet?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hamlet, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.0%. The next largest groups are Black (33.8%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Hamlet in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.0% (1,791 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hamlet appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (58.0%), Black (33.8%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Hamlet (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 Hamlet mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "homestead" or "village" in Old English and Old French. 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 Hamlet (1.03 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 Hamlet?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Hamlet, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.