2000
#7,691
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,991
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.48
Rare Last name
Hans
A patronymic surname of German, Dutch, and Scandinavian origin meaning "son of Johannes" or "son of John."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,860 Americans carry the last name Hans. That puts it at #7,556 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.42 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 70,526 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hans 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 Hans with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.9K
1 in 70,526
Census rank
#7,556
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,238 bearers of the surname Hans in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.42 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7556th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hans, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (14.4%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hans
The surname HANS originated in Germany and can be traced back to the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the personal name Hans, which was a German shortened form of the name Johannes, the German equivalent of John.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname HANS can be found in various German medieval records, such as the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae and the Monumenta Germaniae Historica. One notable example is the mention of a certain Conradus Hans in a document from the city of Erfurt, dated 1292.
In the 14th century, the surname HANS appeared in several regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland. It was often associated with certain professions, such as tailors, shoemakers, and merchants, as evidenced by records from guild registers and tax rolls.
During the 16th century, the surname HANS gained prominence with the rise of the Protestant Reformation. One of the most influential figures of this era was Johannes Hans, a German theologian and reformer born in 1492 in Worms. He was a close associate of Martin Luther and played a crucial role in the dissemination of Protestant teachings throughout Germany.
Another notable bearer of the surname HANS was Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543), a renowned German artist and printmaker. He is best known for his portraits of prominent figures of the Tudor court, including King Henry VIII and Sir Thomas More.
In the 17th century, the surname HANS was carried to various parts of Europe by German immigrants. For instance, Johann Hans (1598-1667), a German-born settler, was among the first to establish a permanent settlement in what is now New York City, then known as New Amsterdam.
Other historical figures with the surname HANS include Hans Andersen (1805-1875), the celebrated Danish author and poet famous for his fairy tales, and Hans Christian Oersted (1777-1851), a Danish physicist and chemist who discovered electromagnetism.
Throughout its long history, the surname HANS has been subject to various spelling variations, such as Hanss, Hanse, and Hanz, reflecting regional dialects and linguistic changes over time. However, its German origins and connection to the personal name Johannes have remained a consistent thread.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hans
Among Census respondents with the surname Hans, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (14.4%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Hans 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 Hans surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.8% · 3,211
- Asian and Pacific Islander14.4% · 611
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 145
- Black or African American3.1% · 130
- Two or more races3.0% · 128
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hans
Hans 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
#7,516
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,427
+436 bearers (+10.9%)
Per 100,000 1.50
Rank movement Up 175 places
2020
#7,556
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,238
-189 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 1.42
Rank movement Down 40 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,691 | 3,991 | 1.48 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,516 | 4,427 | 1.50 | +436 bearers (+10.9%) | Up 175 places |
| 2020 | #7,556 | 4,238 | 1.42 | -189 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 40 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 Hans 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 | #7,516 | #7,556 | -0.5% |
| Count | 4,427 | 4,238 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.50 | 1.42 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hans bearers went from 4,427 to 4,238 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 40 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,516 to #7,556.
FAQ
Hans surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hans?
Name Census estimates that about 4,860 living Americans carry the surname Hans. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 70,526 residents.
How common is Hans?
Hans ranks #7,556 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.42 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 4,238 people with the surname Hans. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,860), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.42 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.42 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 Hans.
Has Hans become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hans went from 4,427 recorded bearers to 4,238. That is a decrease of 189 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,516 to #7,556.
What does the Census say about the background of Hans?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hans, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (14.4%) and Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Hans in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.8% (3,211 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hans appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (14.4%), Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Hans (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 Hans mean?
A patronymic surname of German, Dutch, and Scandinavian origin meaning "son of Johannes" or "son of John." 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 Hans (1.42 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 have the surname Hans?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.