2000
#8,811
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,423
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.27
Rare Last name
Hearne
Derived from a place name meaning "a nook, corner, or secluded spot" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,769 Americans carry the last name Hearne. That puts it at #9,469 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.10 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 90,940 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hearne 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 Hearne with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.8K
1 in 90,940
Census rank
#9,469
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,287 bearers of the surname Hearne in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.10 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9469th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hearne, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.7%. The next largest groups are Black (19.7%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hearne
The surname HEARNE is an English name derived from the Old English word 'hærn', meaning a place where hares were found. It originated in the county of Somerset, England, during the medieval period.
The earliest recorded spelling of the name dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as 'Herne'. This ancient document, commissioned by William the Conqueror, was a survey of land ownership in England at the time.
In the 13th century, the name was found in various forms, such as 'Herne' and 'Hern', indicating its connection to the Old English word 'hærn'. The spelling 'Hearne' became more common in the 16th and 17th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname HEARNE was William Herne, who lived in Somerset in the late 13th century. Another notable figure was Thomas Hearne, an English antiquary and scholar, born in 1678 and died in 1735, known for his works on medieval manuscripts.
The HEARNE surname has also been associated with several place names in England, such as Herne Bay in Kent and Herne Hill in London. These places likely derived their names from the Old English word 'hærn', suggesting a connection to areas where hares were abundant.
In the 17th century, the HEARNE family established itself in various parts of England, including Berkshire, Oxfordshire, and Somerset. One notable member of this family was Samuel Hearne, an English explorer and writer, born in 1745 and died in 1792, who is known for his explorations of the Canadian Arctic.
Another prominent figure with the HEARNE surname was Thomas Hearne, an English painter and engraver, born in 1744 and died in 1817, renowned for his landscape paintings and engravings depicting rural England.
While the HEARNE surname has its origins in England, it has also been found in other parts of the world, likely due to immigration and the dispersal of families over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hearne
Among Census respondents with the surname Hearne, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.7%. The next largest groups are Black (19.7%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Hearne 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 Hearne surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.7% · 2,358
- Black or African American19.7% · 649
- Two or more races3.7% · 123
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 117
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hearne
Hearne 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
#9,177
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,554
+131 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 1.20
Rank movement Down 366 places
2020
#9,469
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,287
-267 bearers (-7.5%)
Per 100,000 1.10
Rank movement Down 292 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,811 | 3,423 | 1.27 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,177 | 3,554 | 1.20 | +131 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 366 places |
| 2020 | #9,469 | 3,287 | 1.10 | -267 bearers (-7.5%) | Down 292 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 Hearne 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 | #9,177 | #9,469 | -3.2% |
| Count | 3,554 | 3,287 | -7.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.20 | 1.10 | -8.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hearne bearers went from 3,554 to 3,287 (-7.5% change). The surname moved down 292 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,177 to #9,469.
FAQ
Hearne surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hearne?
Name Census estimates that about 3,769 living Americans carry the surname Hearne. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 90,940 residents.
How common is Hearne?
Hearne ranks #9,469 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.10 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,287 people with the surname Hearne. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,769), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.10 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Hearne.
Has Hearne become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hearne went from 3,554 recorded bearers to 3,287. That is a decrease of 267 (-7.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,177 to #9,469.
What does the Census say about the background of Hearne?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hearne, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.7%. The next largest groups are Black (19.7%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Hearne in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.7% (2,358 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hearne appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (71.7%), Black (19.7%), Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Hearne (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 Hearne mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "a nook, corner, or secluded spot" 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 Hearne (1.10 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 are called Hearne?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Hearne at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.