2000
#8,476
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,581
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.33
Rare Last name
Hedge
An occupational surname referring to someone who made or repaired hedges or lived near a hedge.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,905 Americans carry the last name Hedge. That puts it at #9,201 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.14 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 87,773 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hedge 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 Hedge with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.9K
1 in 87,773
Census rank
#9,201
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,405 bearers of the surname Hedge in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.14 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9201st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hedge, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Black (5.8%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hedge
The surname HEDGE is of English origin and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old English word "hege," which means "hedge" or "enclosure." This suggests that the name may have been initially given to someone who lived near a hedge or worked as a hedge-maker or hedge-keeper.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname HEDGE can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Hegge." This document, commissioned by William the Conqueror, was a survey of land and property ownership in England at the time.
During the 13th century, the surname HEDGE began to appear in various records across different parts of England, including Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Gloucestershire. Some variations in spelling included Hegge, Hege, and Hedges.
In the 14th century, there are references to a John Hedge from Somerset, who was mentioned in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1327. Another early bearer of the name was William Hedge, a landowner from Wiltshire, who was recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of 1380.
One notable figure with the surname HEDGE was Sir Robert Hedge (1562-1629), an English merchant and Member of Parliament during the reign of King James I. He was involved in the East India Company and served as its governor from 1619 to 1622.
Another prominent individual was Levi Hedge (1766-1856), an American Baptist minister and educator from Massachusetts. He was the founder of the Theological Institution in Coventry (now known as the University of Rhode Island), where he served as the first president from 1819 to 1822.
In the literary world, Frederic Henry Hedge (1805-1890) was an American transcendentalist and scholar. He was a member of the Transcendental Club and played a significant role in introducing German philosophy and literature to American readers.
Sir Nevil Maskelyne Hedge (1835-1910) was a British astronomer and mathematician who served as the Astronomer Royal from 1888 to 1910. He made important contributions to the study of planetary motion and the determination of the solar parallax.
Lastly, Mary Hedge Kennard (1889-1976) was an American philanthropist and activist from New York. She was a prominent supporter of women's rights and education, serving as the president of the Women's City Club of New York and the National Association of Women Lawyers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hedge
Among Census respondents with the surname Hedge, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Black (5.8%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Hedge 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 Hedge surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.8% · 2,888
- Black or African American5.8% · 196
- Two or more races4.3% · 146
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 105
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 55
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hedge
Hedge 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
#8,641
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,805
+224 bearers (+6.3%)
Per 100,000 1.29
Rank movement Down 165 places
2020
#9,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,405
-400 bearers (-10.5%)
Per 100,000 1.14
Rank movement Down 560 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,476 | 3,581 | 1.33 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,641 | 3,805 | 1.29 | +224 bearers (+6.3%) | Down 165 places |
| 2020 | #9,201 | 3,405 | 1.14 | -400 bearers (-10.5%) | Down 560 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 Hedge 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 | #8,641 | #9,201 | -6.5% |
| Count | 3,805 | 3,405 | -10.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.29 | 1.14 | -11.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hedge bearers went from 3,805 to 3,405 (-10.5% change). The surname moved down 560 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,641 to #9,201.
FAQ
Hedge surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hedge?
Name Census estimates that about 3,905 living Americans carry the surname Hedge. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 87,773 residents.
How common is Hedge?
Hedge ranks #9,201 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.14 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 3,405 people with the surname Hedge. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,905), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.14 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.14 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 Hedge.
Has Hedge become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hedge went from 3,805 recorded bearers to 3,405. That is a decrease of 400 (-10.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,641 to #9,201.
What does the Census say about the background of Hedge?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hedge, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Black (5.8%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Hedge in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.8% (2,888 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hedge appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.8%), Black (5.8%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Hedge (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 Hedge mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who made or repaired hedges or lived near a hedge. 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 Hedge (1.14 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 common is the surname Hedge?
Want to know how many people have the surname Hedge? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.