Hawksley last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Hawksley

A surname derived from a location name associated with hawks or falconry.

Hawksley, 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 Hawksley surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hawksley in America

Hawksley is the 61745th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hawksley surname appeared 325 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 Hawksley.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hawksley 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 61745 57544 7.04%
Count 325 331 -1.83%
Proportion per 100k 0.11 0.12 -8.70%

The history of the last name Hawksley

The surname Hawksley is of English origin and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is a locational name derived from the village of Hawksley in Warwickshire. The name itself is a combination of the Old English words "hafoc" meaning hawk and "leah" meaning woodland clearing or meadow.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, the village of Hawksley was recorded as "Haucusleah," reflecting the earlier spelling of the name. The earliest recorded instance of the surname itself dates back to 1275, when one Richard de Haukesley was listed in the Hundred Rolls of Huntingdonshire.

During the Middle Ages, the Hawksley family was prominent in the county of Warwickshire. One notable figure was Sir John Hawksley (c. 1340-1407), a knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War and was awarded lands for his service to the English crown.

In the 16th century, the surname began to spread beyond its original Warwickshire roots. One early bearer was William Hawksley (1558-1624), a merchant and alderman in the city of London.

As the surname expanded across England, variations in spelling emerged, including Hawkesley, Hauksley, and Hoxley. One famous bearer of the name was Sir Richard Hawksley (1728-1808), a British naval officer who distinguished himself during the American Revolutionary War.

Other notable individuals with the Hawksley surname include John Hawksley (1715-1795), an English clergyman and author, and Thomas Hawksley (1807-1893), a renowned civil engineer responsible for the design and construction of several major water supply systems in England.

While the Hawksley name has its roots in the English countryside, over the centuries it has become associated with a diverse range of professions and accomplishments, from military service and commerce to literature and engineering.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hawksley

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

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 Hawksley was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 94.46% 307
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 2.15% 7
Hispanic Origin 1.54% 5

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 Hawksley has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 94.46% 96.37% -2.00%
Black (S)% 1.81% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races 2.15% 1.51% 34.97%
Hispanic 1.54% (S)% (S)%

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

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

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"Hawksley last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on May 1, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/hawksley-surname-popularity/.

"Hawksley last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/hawksley-surname-popularity/. Accessed 1 May, 2025

Hawksley last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/hawksley-surname-popularity/.

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