2000
#1,491
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,947
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.14
Uncommon Last name
Hammer
An occupational surname referring to a maker or user of hammers.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 23,977 Americans carry the last name Hammer. That puts it at #1,684 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.00 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 14,295 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hammer 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 Hammer with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
24K
1 in 14,295
Census rank
#1,684
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
21K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 20,909 bearers of the surname Hammer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.00 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1684th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hammer, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hammer
The surname Hammer is of German origin, derived from the German word "Hammer" which means "hammer" or "sledgehammer". It is an occupational name that originally referred to a blacksmith or metalworker who worked with a hammer.
The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany, such as Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland. In some areas, the name was also spelled as "Hamer" or "Hamar".
One of the earliest documented references to the name can be found in the Codex Traditionum Westfalicarum, a 13th-century cartulary from the German region of Westphalia, where a person named "Conradus Hamer" is mentioned.
During the Middle Ages, the Hammer surname was particularly prevalent in the town of Hammerstein, located in the Rhineland-Palatinate region of Germany. This town likely derived its name from the presence of local blacksmiths or hammer-workers.
In the 14th century, a notable bearer of the name was Johannes Hammer, a German theologian and philosopher from Bavaria who lived from around 1350 to 1420.
Another early prominent individual with the surname was Johannes Hammer, a German printer and publisher who lived from around 1410 to 1470 and was active in the city of Leipzig.
In the 16th century, Kaspar Hammer, a German mathematician and astronomer from Saxony, gained recognition for his contributions to the field of astronomy. He lived from around 1500 to 1562.
During the 17th century, the Hammer surname was also found in some regions of Switzerland, where it was often spelled as "Hämmer" or "Hämmerli".
In the 18th century, Johann Hammer, a German botanist and naturalist from Saxony, made significant contributions to the study of plants and natural history. He lived from 1714 to 1794.
As the surname spread across German-speaking regions, it eventually made its way to other parts of Europe and later to the Americas, where it was adopted by immigrants and their descendants.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hammer
Among Census respondents with the surname Hammer, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Hammer 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 Hammer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.3% · 18,876
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 722
- Two or more races3.2% · 666
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 255
- Black or African American1.0% · 204
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 186
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hammer
Hammer 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
#1,661
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,709
-238 bearers (-1.1%)
Per 100,000 7.36
Rank movement Down 170 places
2020
#1,684
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,909
-800 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 7.00
Rank movement Down 23 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,491 | 21,947 | 8.14 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,661 | 21,709 | 7.36 | -238 bearers (-1.1%) | Down 170 places |
| 2020 | #1,684 | 20,909 | 7.00 | -800 bearers (-3.7%) | Down 23 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 Hammer 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 | #1,661 | #1,684 | -1.4% |
| Count | 21,709 | 20,909 | -3.7% |
| Per 100K | 7.36 | 7.00 | -5.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hammer bearers went from 21,709 to 20,909 (-3.7% change). The surname moved down 23 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,661 to #1,684.
FAQ
Hammer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hammer?
Name Census estimates that about 23,977 living Americans carry the surname Hammer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 14,295 residents.
How common is Hammer?
Hammer ranks #1,684 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.00 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 20,909 people with the surname Hammer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (23,977), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.00 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 Hammer.
Has Hammer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hammer went from 21,709 recorded bearers to 20,909. That is a decrease of 800 (-3.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,661 to #1,684.
What does the Census say about the background of Hammer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hammer, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Hammer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.3% (18,876 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hammer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.3%), Hispanic (3.5%), Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Hammer (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 Hammer mean?
An occupational surname referring to a maker or user of hammers. 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 Hammer (7.00 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 Hammer?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.