2000
#6,243
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,040
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.87
Rare Last name
Hazlett
Derived from a place name meaning "hazel wood" or "hazel stream" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,493 Americans carry the last name Hazlett. That puts it at #6,766 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 62,398 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hazlett 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 Hazlett with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.5K
1 in 62,398
Census rank
#6,766
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,790 bearers of the surname Hazlett in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6766th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hazlett, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hazlett
The surname Hazlett is of English origin, deriving from the Old English personal name Hazelsæta, which means "hazel-dweller" or "one who lives by the hazel trees." This name dates back to the early medieval period in England, around the 7th to 10th centuries.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Hazlett can be found in various historical documents from the 13th and 14th centuries. It was initially spelled in different ways, such as Haselsete, Haselset, and Haslitt, reflecting the regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions of the time.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror, there are mentions of individuals with similar names, such as Hazelwode and Hazelgrave, suggesting the existence of early forms of the Hazlett surname.
The Hazlett name was particularly prominent in the counties of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk, where it was associated with certain place names derived from the Old English word "hæsel," meaning hazel. For instance, the village of Hazlewood in Yorkshire might have been the origin of some Hazlett families.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname was Robert de Haselset, who was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1195. Another notable figure was John Hazlitt (1778-1830), an English writer, philosopher, and painter, best known for his essays on various subjects, including literature, philosophy, and politics.
Other notable individuals with the Hazlett surname include:
1. William Hazlitt (1737-1820), an English writer and Unitarian minister, and the father of the essayist William Hazlitt.
2. Charles Hazlitt (1835-1907), an English lawyer and legal writer, known for his compilation of legal texts and glossaries.
3. William Carew Hazlitt (1834-1913), an English bibliographer and writer, famous for his contributions to the study of English literature and book collecting.
4. William Hazlitt the Younger (1811-1893), an English writer and editor, and the grandson of William Hazlitt.
5. John Hazlitt (1810-1875), an English lawyer and literary scholar, best known for his work on early English literature and drama.
The Hazlett surname has undergone various spelling variations over the centuries, including Hazlitt, Hazlitt, Haslitt, and Haslett, reflecting the fluidity of surname spellings in early modern England. However, the core meaning and origin of the name remain rooted in the Old English concept of "hazel-dweller" or "one who lives by the hazel trees."
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hazlett
Among Census respondents with the surname Hazlett, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Hazlett 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 Hazlett surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.8% · 4,351
- Two or more races3.8% · 180
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 142
- Black or African American1.3% · 62
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 30
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 25
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hazlett
Hazlett 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
#6,611
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,122
+82 bearers (+1.6%)
Per 100,000 1.74
Rank movement Down 368 places
2020
#6,766
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,790
-332 bearers (-6.5%)
Per 100,000 1.60
Rank movement Down 155 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,243 | 5,040 | 1.87 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,611 | 5,122 | 1.74 | +82 bearers (+1.6%) | Down 368 places |
| 2020 | #6,766 | 4,790 | 1.60 | -332 bearers (-6.5%) | Down 155 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 Hazlett 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 | #6,611 | #6,766 | -2.3% |
| Count | 5,122 | 4,790 | -6.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.74 | 1.60 | -7.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hazlett bearers went from 5,122 to 4,790 (-6.5% change). The surname moved down 155 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,611 to #6,766.
FAQ
Hazlett surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hazlett?
Name Census estimates that about 5,493 living Americans carry the surname Hazlett. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 62,398 residents.
How common is Hazlett?
Hazlett ranks #6,766 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.60 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,790 people with the surname Hazlett. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,493), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.60 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Hazlett.
Has Hazlett become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hazlett went from 5,122 recorded bearers to 4,790. That is a decrease of 332 (-6.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,611 to #6,766.
What does the Census say about the background of Hazlett?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hazlett, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Hazlett in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.8% (4,351 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hazlett appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.8%), Two or More Races (3.8%), Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Hazlett (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 Hazlett mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "hazel wood" or "hazel stream" 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 Hazlett (1.60 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 Hazlett?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.