2000
#11,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,485
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.92
Rare Last name
Hampson
From a place called Hamston or Hammston, derived from the Old English words "ham" meaning homestead and "tun" meaning enclosure or settlement.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,929 Americans carry the last name Hampson. That puts it at #11,736 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.85 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 117,021 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hampson 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 Hampson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.9K
1 in 117,021
Census rank
#11,736
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,554 bearers of the surname Hampson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.85 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11736th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hampson, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hampson
The surname Hampson is of English origin, deriving from the medieval given name Hammon or Hamon, a diminutive form of the Old German name Haimo. This name ultimately stems from the Germanic word "haim," meaning home or dwelling.
Hampson is believed to have originated in the northern English counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire during the 12th and 13th centuries. It was initially spelled in various ways, such as Hamondsone, Hammondson, and Hamundson, before evolving into its modern form.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Curia Regis Rolls of 1201, which mention a Roger Hamund. The Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1166 also reference a Hamundus de Torneton.
In the 13th century, the Hampson surname was associated with several landholdings in Lancashire, including Hampson Hall in Longridge and Hampson Fold in Billinge. These place names likely influenced the spelling and spread of the surname.
Notable people with the Hampson surname include:
1. Robert Hampson (c.1462-1508), an English priest and academic who served as the Chancellor of Oxford University.
2. Thomas Hampson (born 1955), an American operatic baritone known for his performances in operas by composers like Mozart, Verdi, and Mahler.
3. Sir George Francis Hampson (1860-1936), a British entomologist and civil servant who made significant contributions to the study of moths.
4. William Hampson (1785-1857), an English engineer and inventor, best known for his contributions to the development of the spinning mule for cotton spinning.
5. John Hampson (1760-1817), an English clergyman and biographer who wrote the first comprehensive biography of the poet John Dryden.
While the Hampson surname has spread globally due to migration and intermarriage, its roots can be traced back to the northern counties of England, where it emerged as a patronymic name derived from the Old German personal name Haimo.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hampson
Among Census respondents with the surname Hampson, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Hampson 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 Hampson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.6% · 2,313
- Two or more races2.9% · 75
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 69
- Black or African American2.2% · 57
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hampson
Hampson 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
#11,801
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,653
+168 bearers (+6.8%)
Per 100,000 0.90
Rank movement Down 211 places
2020
#11,736
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,554
-99 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Up 65 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,590 | 2,485 | 0.92 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,801 | 2,653 | 0.90 | +168 bearers (+6.8%) | Down 211 places |
| 2020 | #11,736 | 2,554 | 0.85 | -99 bearers (-3.7%) | Up 65 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 Hampson 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 | #11,801 | #11,736 | 0.6% |
| Count | 2,653 | 2,554 | -3.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.90 | 0.85 | -5.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hampson bearers went from 2,653 to 2,554 (-3.7% change). The surname moved up 65 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,801 to #11,736.
FAQ
Hampson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hampson?
Name Census estimates that about 2,929 living Americans carry the surname Hampson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 117,021 residents.
How common is Hampson?
Hampson ranks #11,736 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.85 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 2,554 people with the surname Hampson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,929), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.85 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.85 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 Hampson.
Has Hampson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hampson went from 2,653 recorded bearers to 2,554. That is a decrease of 99 (-3.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #11,801 to #11,736.
What does the Census say about the background of Hampson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hampson, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Hampson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.6% (2,313 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hampson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.6%), Two or More Races (2.9%), Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Hampson (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 Hampson mean?
From a place called Hamston or Hammston, derived from the Old English words "ham" meaning homestead and "tun" meaning enclosure or settlement. 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 Hampson (0.85 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 share the surname Hampson?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.