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

Hanse, 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 Hanse surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hanse in America

Hanse is the 58337th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hanse surname appeared 348 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Hanse.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hanse 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 Hanse

The surname Hanse originated in Germany, with the earliest records of the name dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to derive from the medieval German word "hanse," which referred to a merchant guild or league, particularly the Hanseatic League, a powerful commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns that dominated trade in Northern Europe between the 13th and 17th centuries.

The name Hanse is thought to have been initially adopted by individuals who were members of these merchant guilds or were involved in the trade activities associated with the Hanseatic League. The widespread influence of the Hanseatic League across Northern Europe likely contributed to the dissemination of the surname across various regions.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Lübecker Oberstadtbuch, a municipal record book from the city of Lübeck, which was a prominent member of the Hanseatic League. In this book, dated around 1300, there is an entry referring to a "Johannes Hanse," suggesting the name's association with the merchant class of that era.

Another notable reference to the name Hanse can be found in the Stadtbücher von Stralsund, a collection of municipal records from the city of Stralsund, which was also a member of the Hanseatic League. These records, dating back to the 14th century, include several mentions of individuals with the surname Hanse, further reinforcing the name's connection to the merchant activities of the time.

Over the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the surname Hanse. One example is Johann Hanse (1549-1625), a German theologian and philosopher who served as a professor at the University of Rostock. Another prominent figure was Hans Hanse (1603-1679), a Dutch painter known for his still-life paintings and portraits.

In the 18th century, Johann Gottlieb Hanse (1713-1767) was a German mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics. Later, in the 19th century, Peter Andreas Hanse (1795-1874) was a Danish botanist and naturalist who conducted extensive research on the flora of Greenland.

One of the more recent notable individuals with the surname Hanse was Erich Hanse (1900-1963), a German film director and screenwriter who worked in the German film industry during the 1930s and 1940s.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hanse

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

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 Hanse 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 Hanse 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 Hanse was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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