2000
#2,083
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,968
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.92
Uncommon Last name
Hawthorne
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near a hedge of hawthorn shrubs.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 18,335 Americans carry the last name Hawthorne. That puts it at #2,218 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.35 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 18,694 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hawthorne 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 Hawthorne with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
18K
1 in 18,694
Census rank
#2,218
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
16K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 15,989 bearers of the surname Hawthorne in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.35 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2218th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hawthorne, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.5%. The next largest groups are Black (35.0%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hawthorne
The surname Hawthorne is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "hæg" meaning hedge and "thorn" meaning a thorny tree or bush. This suggests that the name originally referred to someone who lived near a hawthorn hedge or bush. It is found recorded as early as the 13th century in various spellings such as Hathorne, Haughthorne, and Hawthorn.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was William de Hawethorn, who was mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1282. Another early record is that of John Hauthorne, listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire in 1379. The Hawthorne surname is also found in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, although the exact spelling varies.
The name Hawthorne has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the most famous is Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), the renowned American novelist and short story writer known for works such as "The Scarlet Letter" and "The House of the Seven Gables." He was born in Salem, Massachusetts, and his ancestors had settled in the area in the 17th century.
Another notable bearer of the name was William Hawthorne (1742-1809), an English-born American soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War. He served as an officer in the Continental Army and was present at several key battles, including the Battle of Saratoga.
In the 19th century, John Caldwell Calhoun Hawthorne (1825-1899) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Representative from Missouri. He was also a member of the Confederate Congress during the American Civil War.
The name Hawthorne has also been associated with several places in England, including the village of Hawthorn in County Durham, and the town of Hawthorn in Wiltshire. These place names likely originated from the same Old English roots as the surname, referring to areas where hawthorn bushes grew abundantly.
More recently, Robert Hawthorne (1909-1994) was an American actor and singer who appeared in numerous films and television shows during the mid-20th century. He was known for his roles in westerns and often played characters with the surname Hawthorne.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hawthorne
Among Census respondents with the surname Hawthorne, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.5%. The next largest groups are Black (35.0%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Hawthorne 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 Hawthorne surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White55.5% · 8,879
- Black or African American35.0% · 5,598
- Two or more races4.7% · 756
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 570
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 110
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 76
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hawthorne
Hawthorne 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
#2,167
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,758
+790 bearers (+4.9%)
Per 100,000 5.68
Rank movement Down 84 places
2020
#2,218
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,989
-769 bearers (-4.6%)
Per 100,000 5.35
Rank movement Down 51 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,083 | 15,968 | 5.92 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,167 | 16,758 | 5.68 | +790 bearers (+4.9%) | Down 84 places |
| 2020 | #2,218 | 15,989 | 5.35 | -769 bearers (-4.6%) | Down 51 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 Hawthorne 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 | #2,167 | #2,218 | -2.4% |
| Count | 16,758 | 15,989 | -4.6% |
| Per 100K | 5.68 | 5.35 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hawthorne bearers went from 16,758 to 15,989 (-4.6% change). The surname moved down 51 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,167 to #2,218.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hawthorne
FAQ
Hawthorne surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hawthorne?
Name Census estimates that about 18,335 living Americans carry the surname Hawthorne. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 18,694 residents.
How common is Hawthorne?
Hawthorne ranks #2,218 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.35 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 15,989 people with the surname Hawthorne. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (18,335), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.35 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.35 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Hawthorne.
Has Hawthorne become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hawthorne went from 16,758 recorded bearers to 15,989. That is a decrease of 769 (-4.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,167 to #2,218.
What does the Census say about the background of Hawthorne?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hawthorne, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.5%. The next largest groups are Black (35.0%) 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 Hawthorne in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.5% (8,879 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hawthorne appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (55.5%), Black (35.0%), 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 Hawthorne (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 Hawthorne mean?
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near a hedge of hawthorn shrubs. 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 Hawthorne (5.35 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 share the surname Hawthorne?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.