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

Hearns, 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 Hearns surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hearns in America

Hearns is the 15272nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hearns surname appeared 1,923 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Hearns.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hearns 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.

The history of the last name Hearns

The surname Hearns is of English origin, and it dates back to the medieval period. It is a locational name derived from the Old English words "heor" and "erņ," which together mean "a place frequented by hares." The name likely referred to someone who lived near a hare's den or a place where hares were abundant.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Hearns can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Hernes" and "Hernes." This suggests that the name was already in use before the Norman Conquest of 1066.

In the 13th century, the name was recorded as "Herne" and "Hern" in various county records, such as the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire and the Feet of Fines for Essex. These early spellings reflect the evolution of the name over time.

One of the earliest known bearers of the surname was William Herne, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Buckinghamshire in 1203. Another notable individual was John Herne, a prominent merchant from Bristol who lived in the late 14th century.

During the 16th century, the name was sometimes associated with the heron bird, and it was sometimes spelled as "Hearon" or "Heyron." This association with the heron may have been due to the similarity in pronunciation between "hare" and "heron."

In the 17th century, the surname appeared in various spellings, including "Hearne," "Hearn," and "Hearns." One notable bearer of the name from this period was Thomas Hearne, an English antiquary and scholar who lived from 1678 to 1735.

Another significant figure with the surname Hearns was John Hearne, an English soldier and adventurer who fought in the English Civil War and later became a pirate in the Caribbean. He lived from around 1625 to 1660.

In the 18th century, the spelling "Hearns" became more prevalent, and the name was associated with several notable individuals, including William Hearns, a British naval officer who served during the American Revolutionary War, and Richard Hearns, an English playwright and author who lived from 1720 to 1795.

As the centuries passed, the surname Hearns spread across various regions of England, with concentrations in counties such as Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and Essex, where the name originated. The name also found its way to other parts of the British Isles and eventually to various parts of the world through the process of migration and colonization.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hearns

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

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 Hearns was:

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

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

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

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