2000
#11,610
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,480
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.92
Rare Last name
Hatt
An English occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of hats.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,482 Americans carry the last name Hatt. That puts it at #13,452 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.72 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 138,096 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hatt 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 Hatt with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.5K
1 in 138,096
Census rank
#13,452
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,164 bearers of the surname Hatt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.72 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13452nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hatt, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hatt
The surname HATT originates from Germany, with records dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "hatte," meaning "hat" or "headdress." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to a hatter or someone who made hats for a living.
In the 14th century, the name HATT appeared in various German chronicles and records, often associated with individuals from the regions of Bavaria and Saxony. One notable early mention was in the Würzburg Codex of 1352, which listed a "Hermannus Hatt" among the guild members of hatters and furriers.
The earliest recorded bearer of the HATT surname was Hans Hatt, born in 1427 in Nuremberg, Germany. He was a respected hatter and merchant who supplied headwear to the local nobility. Another early example was Konrad Hatt, a hatter from Augsburg, who was recorded in the city's tax records in 1489.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the HATT name spread across various German principalities and states. In 1612, a Johannes Hatt was mentioned in the town records of Freiburg im Breisgau as a master hatter. Interestingly, the name also appeared in the form "Hut" in some regions, which is the German word for "hat."
One notable figure bearing the HATT surname was Johann Hatt (1684-1761), a German composer and organist from Württemberg. He was renowned for his sacred works and served as the court organist to the Duke of Württemberg.
Another prominent HATT was Friedrich Hatt (1792-1876), a German astronomer and mathematician from Saxony. He made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and was a member of the prestigious Prussian Academy of Sciences.
In the 19th century, the HATT name spread beyond Germany, with some bearers emigrating to other parts of Europe and North America. For instance, August Hatt (1823-1901) was a German-American architect who designed several notable buildings in Chicago, including the Old Water Tower.
Overall, the surname HATT has a rich history rooted in the German hatmaking tradition, with numerous notable bearers across various fields throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hatt
Among Census respondents with the surname Hatt, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Hatt 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 Hatt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.9% · 1,988
- Two or more races3.2% · 69
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 60
- Black or African American1.2% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hatt
Hatt 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
#12,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,574
+94 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.87
Rank movement Down 498 places
2020
#13,452
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,164
-410 bearers (-15.9%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Down 1,344 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,610 | 2,480 | 0.92 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,108 | 2,574 | 0.87 | +94 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 498 places |
| 2020 | #13,452 | 2,164 | 0.72 | -410 bearers (-15.9%) | Down 1,344 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 Hatt 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 | #12,108 | #13,452 | -11.1% |
| Count | 2,574 | 2,164 | -15.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.87 | 0.72 | -16.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hatt bearers went from 2,574 to 2,164 (-15.9% change). The surname moved down 1,344 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,108 to #13,452.
FAQ
Hatt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hatt?
Name Census estimates that about 2,482 living Americans carry the surname Hatt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 138,096 residents.
How common is Hatt?
Hatt ranks #13,452 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 2,164 people with the surname Hatt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,482), 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 Hatt.
Has Hatt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hatt went from 2,574 recorded bearers to 2,164. That is a decrease of 410 (-15.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,108 to #13,452.
What does the Census say about the background of Hatt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hatt, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Hatt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.9% (1,988 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hatt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.9%), Two or More Races (3.2%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Hatt (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 Hatt mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of hats. 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 Hatt (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 many people have the last name Hatt?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Hatt, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.