2000
#2,005
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,578
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.15
Uncommon Last name
Hawley
Derived from a place name meaning "hedged meadow" or "fenced enclosure" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 20,315 Americans carry the last name Hawley. That puts it at #1,987 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.93 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 16,872 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hawley 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 Hawley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
20K
1 in 16,872
Census rank
#1,987
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
18K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 17,716 bearers of the surname Hawley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.93 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1987th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hawley, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.6%. The next largest groups are Black (4.1%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hawley
The surname Hawley is of English origin, and it is thought to have originated in the county of Dorset during the medieval period. The name is derived from the Old English words "haga" meaning "enclosure" and "leah" meaning "woodland clearing," suggesting that the name may have been given to someone who lived near a fenced or enclosed clearing in a forest.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hawley can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Haluelei" and "Halwele." This indicates that the name was present in England shortly after the Norman Conquest in 1066.
In the 13th century, the name was recorded as "Haueleye" and "Hauleye" in various medieval documents, reflecting the linguistic evolution and variations in spelling that occurred over time.
One notable early bearer of the surname Hawley was John de Haulee, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1230. Another early reference is to William de Hawele, who was recorded in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname Hawley gained prominence in various parts of England. Sir John Hawley (1545-1616) was an English landowner and Member of Parliament who served as High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Thomas Hawley (1570-1638) was an English divine and author who served as a chaplain to King Charles I.
In the 18th century, Joseph Hawley (1723-1788) was an American patriot and lawyer who played a significant role in the American Revolutionary War. He served as a member of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress and the Continental Congress.
Other notable individuals with the surname Hawley include Henry Hawley (1679-1759), an English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament, and Michael Hawley (1638-1699), an English clergyman and academic who was the Master of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.
Throughout its history, the surname Hawley has been associated with various place names, such as Hawley in Hampshire, Hawley Green in Staffordshire, and Hawley Hill in Buckinghamshire, further reinforcing its English origins and geographical connections.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hawley
Among Census respondents with the surname Hawley, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.6%. The next largest groups are Black (4.1%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Hawley 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 Hawley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.6% · 15,335
- Black or African American4.1% · 734
- Two or more races3.8% · 677
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 569
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 245
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 156
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hawley
Hawley 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
#1,993
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,100
+1,522 bearers (+9.2%)
Per 100,000 6.14
Rank movement Up 12 places
2020
#1,987
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,716
-384 bearers (-2.1%)
Per 100,000 5.93
Rank movement Up 6 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,005 | 16,578 | 6.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,993 | 18,100 | 6.14 | +1,522 bearers (+9.2%) | Up 12 places |
| 2020 | #1,987 | 17,716 | 5.93 | -384 bearers (-2.1%) | Up 6 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 Hawley 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 | #1,993 | #1,987 | 0.3% |
| Count | 18,100 | 17,716 | -2.1% |
| Per 100K | 6.14 | 5.93 | -3.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hawley bearers went from 18,100 to 17,716 (-2.1% change). The surname moved up 6 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,993 to #1,987.
FAQ
Hawley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hawley?
Name Census estimates that about 20,315 living Americans carry the surname Hawley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 16,872 residents.
How common is Hawley?
Hawley ranks #1,987 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.93 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 17,716 people with the surname Hawley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (20,315), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.93 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.93 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Hawley.
Has Hawley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hawley went from 18,100 recorded bearers to 17,716. That is a decrease of 384 (-2.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #1,993 to #1,987.
What does the Census say about the background of Hawley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hawley, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.6%. The next largest groups are Black (4.1%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Hawley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.6% (15,335 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hawley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.6%), Black (4.1%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Hawley (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 Hawley mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "hedged meadow" or "fenced enclosure" 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 Hawley (5.93 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 Hawley?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.