2000
#15,203
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,778
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.66
Rare Last name
Hamon
A French toponymic surname derived from any of various places named Ham or Ham-en-Artois, meaning "a town."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,843 Americans carry the last name Hamon. That puts it at #17,233 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.54 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 185,976 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hamon 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 Hamon with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.8K
1 in 185,976
Census rank
#17,233
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,607 bearers of the surname Hamon in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.54 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 17233rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hamon, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hamon
The surname Hamon has its origins in France and can be traced back to the early Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old French personal name "Hamon" or "Haimo," which is thought to have Germanic roots and was originally a diminutive form of the name "Haimric" or "Heimeric."
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Hamon surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as "Hamo." This indicates that the name was present in England shortly after the Norman Conquest of 1066, brought over by Norman settlers from France.
In the 12th century, records show a nobleman named Hamon de Masci, who held lands in Gloucestershire, England. He is mentioned in several medieval documents and is considered one of the earliest known bearers of the Hamon surname.
During the 13th century, the name appeared in various forms, including "Haymo," "Haymun," and "Heymon," reflecting the regional variations in spelling and pronunciation at the time. The Hundred Rolls of 1273, a census-like record of landowners in England, lists several individuals with the Hamon surname or its variations.
In the 14th century, a prominent figure was Sir Hamon L'Estrange, a knight from Norfolk, England, who lived from around 1310 to 1376. He served as a member of parliament and held significant landholdings in the region.
Another notable bearer of the Hamon surname was Jean Hamon, a French painter and engraver who lived from 1618 to 1687. He was known for his religious paintings and engravings, and his works can be found in various museums and collections across Europe.
In the 18th century, Jacques Hamon, a French mathematician and astronomer, made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics. He was born in 1718 and died in 1778.
The Hamon surname also has a long history in Ireland, where it is believed to have been introduced by Norman settlers. One of the earliest recorded instances in Ireland is that of William Hamon, who was granted lands in County Meath in the 12th century.
Over the centuries, the Hamon surname has been associated with various locations and place names, such as Hamon Court in Buckinghamshire, England, and the village of Hamon in Normandy, France.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hamon
Among Census respondents with the surname Hamon, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Hamon 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 Hamon surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.7% · 1,361
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 84
- Two or more races4.9% · 79
- Black or African American3.3% · 53
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hamon
Hamon 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
#14,651
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,031
+253 bearers (+14.2%)
Per 100,000 0.69
Rank movement Up 552 places
2020
#17,233
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,607
-424 bearers (-20.9%)
Per 100,000 0.54
Rank movement Down 2,582 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,203 | 1,778 | 0.66 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,651 | 2,031 | 0.69 | +253 bearers (+14.2%) | Up 552 places |
| 2020 | #17,233 | 1,607 | 0.54 | -424 bearers (-20.9%) | Down 2,582 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 Hamon 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 | #14,651 | #17,233 | -17.6% |
| Count | 2,031 | 1,607 | -20.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.69 | 0.54 | -22.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hamon bearers went from 2,031 to 1,607 (-20.9% change). The surname moved down 2,582 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,651 to #17,233.
FAQ
Hamon surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hamon?
Name Census estimates that about 1,843 living Americans carry the surname Hamon. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 185,976 residents.
How common is Hamon?
Hamon ranks #17,233 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.54 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 1,607 people with the surname Hamon. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,843), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.54 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.54 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 Hamon.
Has Hamon become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hamon went from 2,031 recorded bearers to 1,607. That is a decrease of 424 (-20.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,651 to #17,233.
What does the Census say about the background of Hamon?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hamon, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Hamon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.7% (1,361 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hamon appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.7%), Hispanic (5.2%), Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Hamon (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 Hamon mean?
A French toponymic surname derived from any of various places named Ham or Ham-en-Artois, meaning "a town." 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 Hamon (0.54 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 common is the surname Hamon?
See how many people have the last name Hamon on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.