Find out how popular the last name Hank is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Hank.

Hank, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Hank surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hank in America

Hank is the 15318th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hank surname appeared 1,916 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Hank.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hank to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Hank

The surname Hank is of German origin and dates back to the medieval period. It is derived from the medieval German personal name Hanko, which itself is a diminutive form of the name Johannes or John. The name Hanko was originally a nickname that meant "little Hans" or "little John."

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Hank can be found in various Germanic regions of Europe, particularly in areas that are now part of modern-day Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Some of the earliest examples date back to the 13th and 14th centuries.

In the Middle Ages, surnames were often derived from personal names, occupations, or physical characteristics. The name Hank likely emerged as a surname when it was adopted by the children or descendants of someone with the personal name Hanko.

While the surname Hank does not appear in notable historical records such as the Domesday Book, it can be found in various medieval German church records and tax rolls. For example, a person named Hanko Müller was recorded in a tax register in the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in 1347.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Hank. One of the earliest was Johannes Hank, a German theologian who lived in the 15th century and authored several works on religious philosophy. Another early bearer of the name was Hans Hank, a German mercenary soldier who fought in the Thirty Years' War in the 17th century.

In more recent times, the surname Hank has been carried by several prominent figures, including Thomas Hank (1840-1920), a German-American industrialist and co-founder of the Hank Brothers Construction Company, and Wilhelm Hank (1871-1959), a German physicist who made significant contributions to the study of thermodynamics.

Additionally, the name Hank has been associated with various place names and older spellings of place names, particularly in Germany and Austria. For example, the town of Hankendorf in Bavaria was originally spelled "Hankendorf" in medieval records, reflecting the surname's connection to the region.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hank

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Hank.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Hank was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Hank has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Hank was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Hank, please contact us.

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