2000
#121,058
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 132
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Handlen
A surname likely derived from the Old English "handlian" meaning to handle or manage.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Handlen. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Handlen 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.
Bearers in the US
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Handlen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Handlen, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.2%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Handlen
The surname Handlen is believed to have originated in England during the Middle Ages. It is a locational surname derived from the Old English words "handan" meaning "at hand" and "dun" meaning "hill" or "down." This suggests that the name likely referred to someone who lived near a hill or elevated area.
Handlen is an anglicized version of the Old English place name "Handdene" or "Handene," which was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a manor in Hertfordshire. This early reference indicates the surname's long history and connection to this specific location.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the surname Handlen can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1195, where a person named Richard de Handene is mentioned. This suggests the surname was well-established by the late 12th century.
Variations of the spelling include Handlen, Handlyn, Handelyn, and Handlin. Some early bearers of this surname include John de Handene, recorded in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1307, and William Handelyn, mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1327.
Notable individuals with the surname Handlen throughout history include:
1. Thomas Handlen (c. 1550-1629), an English churchman and clergyman who served as the Archdeacon of Winchester from 1603 until his death.
2. Eleanor Handlen (c. 1580-1642), an English woman accused and executed for witchcraft during the infamous Pendle witch trials in Lancashire in 1612.
3. John Handlen (c. 1620-1690), an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1661 and 1679, representing the constituency of Dorchester.
4. Robert Handlen (1753-1824), a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars.
5. Elizabeth Handlen (1809-1887), a British philanthropist and social reformer who worked to improve the living conditions of the working class in Manchester, England.
While the surname Handlen is not among the most common in England or worldwide, it has a rich history that can be traced back to its locational origins in the Middle Ages.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Handlen
Among Census respondents with the surname Handlen, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.2%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Handlen 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 Handlen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.6% · 103
- Hispanic or Latino9.2% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.5% · 3
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Handlen
Handlen 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
#134,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
-7 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,654 places
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
-6 bearers (-4.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,076 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #121,058 | 132 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #134,712 | 125 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 13,654 places |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-4.8%) | Down 8,076 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 Handlen 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 | #134,712 | #142,788 | -6.0% |
| Count | 125 | 119 | -4.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Handlen bearers went from 125 to 119 (-4.8% change). The surname moved down 8,076 positions in the national ranking, going from #134,712 to #142,788.
FAQ
Handlen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Handlen?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Handlen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Handlen?
Handlen ranks #142,788 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 119 people with the surname Handlen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Handlen.
Has Handlen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Handlen went from 125 recorded bearers to 119. That is a decrease of 6 (-4.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #134,712 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Handlen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Handlen, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.2%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.5%). 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 Handlen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.6% (103 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Handlen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.6%), Hispanic (9.2%), American Indian/Alaska Native (2.5%). 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 Handlen (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 Handlen mean?
A surname likely derived from the Old English "handlian" meaning to handle or manage. 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 Handlen (0.04 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 Handlen?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.