2000
#12,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,337
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.87
Rare Last name
Hannum
A toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "high home" or "home on a hill" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,471 Americans carry the last name Hannum. That puts it at #13,493 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.72 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 138,711 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hannum 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
2.5K
1 in 138,711
Census rank
#13,493
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,155 bearers of the surname Hannum in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.72 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13493rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hannum, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hannum
The surname HANNUM is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "han" meaning "rock" and "num" meaning "taken" or "seized". It likely refers to someone who lived near a rocky outcrop or cliff, or possibly a historical event where land was seized by force.
The earliest known recorded examples of the name date back to the 13th century in Somerset, England. A Walter de Hannum is mentioned in the Feet of Fines records for Somerset in 1285. The "de" prefix suggests the name may have originated as a place name referring to a specific location.
By the 14th century, spelling variations like Haneham and Haunham appear in tax rolls and parish records across southern England. The more modern spelling HANNUM emerges in the 16th century, with references to families of that name living in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was John Hannum, born around 1590 in Taunton, Somerset. He later emigrated to the American colonies in the 1630s, settling in Pennsylvania. His descendants went on to establish prominent families in Pennsylvania and Delaware.
Other notable individuals with the surname include:
- Reverend John Hannum (1631-1701), an early Quaker minister and one of the founders of Pennsylvania.
- William Hannum (1766-1834), an American surveyor and engineer who helped plan the city of Washington D.C.
- Mary Hannum Bell (1859-1933), an American educator and pioneer in the teaching of deaf children.
- John W. Hannum (1898-1963), a U.S. Army general who commanded troops during World War II and the Korean War.
- Thomas L. Hannum (1921-2005), an American basketball coach who led teams to multiple NCAA championships.
While once quite common in parts of England and the eastern United States, the surname HANNUM has become relatively rare in modern times. However, it retains a rich historical legacy spanning over seven centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hannum
Among Census respondents with the surname Hannum, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Hannum 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 Hannum surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.7% · 1,955
- Two or more races3.5% · 75
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 68
- Black or African American1.9% · 41
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hannum
Hannum 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
#13,023
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,358
+21 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 802 places
2020
#13,493
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,155
-203 bearers (-8.6%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Down 470 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,221 | 2,337 | 0.87 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,023 | 2,358 | 0.80 | +21 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 802 places |
| 2020 | #13,493 | 2,155 | 0.72 | -203 bearers (-8.6%) | Down 470 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 Hannum 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 | #13,023 | #13,493 | -3.6% |
| Count | 2,358 | 2,155 | -8.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.80 | 0.72 | -9.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hannum bearers went from 2,358 to 2,155 (-8.6% change). The surname moved down 470 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,023 to #13,493.
FAQ
Hannum surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hannum?
Name Census estimates that about 2,471 living Americans carry the surname Hannum. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 138,711 residents.
How common is Hannum?
Hannum ranks #13,493 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.72 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 2,155 people with the surname Hannum. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,471), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.72 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.72 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 Hannum.
Has Hannum become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hannum went from 2,358 recorded bearers to 2,155. That is a decrease of 203 (-8.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,023 to #13,493.
What does the Census say about the background of Hannum?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hannum, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (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 Hannum in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.7% (1,955 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hannum appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.7%), Two or More Races (3.5%), Hispanic (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 Hannum (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 Hannum mean?
A toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "high home" or "home on a hill" in Old English. 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 Hannum (0.72 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 Hannum?
Want to know how many people are called Hannum? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.