2000
#191
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 134,066
First available Census row
Per 100,000 49.70
Common Last name
Hawkins
Derived from a place name meaning "a settlement by a hawk's wood" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 155,533 Americans carry the last name Hawkins. That puts it at #207 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 45.38 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,204 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hawkins 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 Hawkins with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
156K
1 in 2,204
Census rank
#207
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
45.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
136K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 135,632 bearers of the surname Hawkins in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 45.38 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 207th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hawkins, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.9%. The next largest groups are Black (31.6%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hawkins
The surname Hawkins is of English origin, tracing its roots back to the medieval period. It is a patronymic surname, meaning it was originally derived from a given name. The name is believed to have originated from the Old English personal name "Hafoc," which means "hawk."
In the early days, the surname was often spelled as "Havekyn" or "Haukyn." These variations were common due to the lack of standardized spelling conventions at the time. The name was likely first adopted by the children or descendants of someone with the given name Hafoc or a nickname related to hawks or falconry.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which lists a person named "Hawekyn" as a land holder in Cambridgeshire. This suggests that the name was already in use among the English nobility during the Norman conquest.
During the 13th and 14th centuries, the surname Hawkins began to appear more frequently in various records and documents across England. The variant spellings included "Haukin," "Haukyns," and "Hawkyns."
One notable figure with the surname was Sir John Hawkins (1532-1595), an English naval commander and explorer who was a central figure in the early English slave trade. He is credited with being the first Englishman to establish a trade route between England and the West Indies.
Another prominent individual was Benjamin Hawkins (1754-1816), an American politician and diplomat who served as a U.S. Indian agent and played a significant role in negotiating treaties with Native American tribes in the Southeast.
In literature, we find references to the surname in the works of William Shakespeare. In his play "The Merry Wives of Windsor," one of the characters is referred to as "Master Hawkins."
Other notable individuals with the surname include Sir John Hawkins (1719-1789), a British author and literary critic, and Stephen Hawkins (1722-1794), an English architect and surveyor who designed several notable buildings in London.
The surname Hawkins also has associations with various place names across England, such as Hawkins Hill in Oxfordshire and Hawkins Farm in Berkshire, further solidifying its longstanding presence in the country's history and geography.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hawkins
Among Census respondents with the surname Hawkins, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.9%. The next largest groups are Black (31.6%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Hawkins 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 Hawkins surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.9% · 79,873
- Black or African American31.6% · 42,919
- Two or more races4.7% · 6,389
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 4,720
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 915
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 816
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hawkins
Hawkins 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
#200
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 139,751
+5,685 bearers (+4.2%)
Per 100,000 47.38
Rank movement Down 9 places
2020
#207
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 135,632
-4,119 bearers (-2.9%)
Per 100,000 45.38
Rank movement Down 7 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #191 | 134,066 | 49.70 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #200 | 139,751 | 47.38 | +5,685 bearers (+4.2%) | Down 9 places |
| 2020 | #207 | 135,632 | 45.38 | -4,119 bearers (-2.9%) | Down 7 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 Hawkins 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 | #200 | #207 | -3.5% |
| Count | 139,751 | 135,632 | -2.9% |
| Per 100K | 47.38 | 45.38 | -4.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hawkins bearers went from 139,751 to 135,632 (-2.9% change). The surname moved down 7 positions in the national ranking, going from #200 to #207.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hawkins
FAQ
Hawkins surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hawkins?
Name Census estimates that about 155,533 living Americans carry the surname Hawkins. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,204 residents.
How common is Hawkins?
Hawkins ranks #207 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 45.38 per 100,000 residents, which is about 45 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 135,632 people with the surname Hawkins. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (155,533), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 45.38 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 45.38 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 45 of them to have the surname Hawkins.
Has Hawkins become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hawkins went from 139,751 recorded bearers to 135,632. That is a decrease of 4,119 (-2.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #200 to #207.
What does the Census say about the background of Hawkins?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hawkins, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.9%. The next largest groups are Black (31.6%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Hawkins in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.9% (79,873 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hawkins appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (58.9%), Black (31.6%), Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Hawkins (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 Hawkins mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "a settlement by a hawk's wood" 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 Hawkins (45.38 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 Hawkins?
See how many people have the surname Hawkins on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.