2000
#1,795
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,359
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.81
Uncommon Last name
Hedrick
Derived from a German place name meaning "heather-covered ridge."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 19,911 Americans carry the last name Hedrick. That puts it at #2,035 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.81 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 17,214 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hedrick 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.
Bearers in the US
20K
1 in 17,214
Census rank
#2,035
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
17K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 17,363 bearers of the surname Hedrick in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.81 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2035th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hedrick, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hedrick
The surname HEDRICK is of English origin, deriving from the medieval personal name Hedric, itself a compound of the Old English elements "hēafod" meaning "head" and "rīc" meaning "power" or "ruler." This suggests that the name originally referred to a powerful or distinguished individual, perhaps a chieftain or leader.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 13th century in counties such as Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. It is likely that the name originated in one of these northern English regions, where it may have initially represented a locational surname indicating someone from a particular place or settlement.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Robert Hedrick, mentioned in the Cartulary of Rievaulx Abbey in Yorkshire in 1265. This suggests the name was well-established in the area by the 13th century.
In the 16th century, variations of the spelling included Heddrick, Heddricke, and Hedreke, reflecting the fluid nature of surname spellings in that era before standardization became more common.
Notable historical figures with the HEDRICK surname include Sir William Hedrick (c.1550-1628), a prominent English merchant and member of the Company of Merchant Adventurers in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Thomas Hedrick (1612-1686) was an early settler in the Virginia Colony and a member of the House of Burgesses.
In the 18th century, John Hedrick (1720-1805) was a soldier in the American Revolutionary War and one of the founders of Hedrick's Grove, Illinois. His son, Benjamin Hedrick (1758-1835), was a prominent Baptist minister and pioneer settler in Kentucky.
Another notable bearer was Charles Hedrick (1805-1886), a U.S. Congressman from North Carolina who served in the House of Representatives from 1845 to 1847.
While the HEDRICK name has its origins in medieval England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through immigration to North America in the 17th and 18th centuries. However, its earliest roots can be traced back to the northern English counties where it first emerged as a surname centuries ago.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hedrick
Among Census respondents with the surname Hedrick, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Hedrick 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 Hedrick surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.0% · 15,624
- Two or more races3.2% · 564
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 494
- Black or African American2.6% · 448
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 136
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 97
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hedrick
Hedrick 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
#1,918
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,804
+445 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 6.37
Rank movement Down 123 places
2020
#2,035
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,363
-1,441 bearers (-7.7%)
Per 100,000 5.81
Rank movement Down 117 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,795 | 18,359 | 6.81 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,918 | 18,804 | 6.37 | +445 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 123 places |
| 2020 | #2,035 | 17,363 | 5.81 | -1,441 bearers (-7.7%) | Down 117 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 Hedrick 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 | #1,918 | #2,035 | -6.1% |
| Count | 18,804 | 17,363 | -7.7% |
| Per 100K | 6.37 | 5.81 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hedrick bearers went from 18,804 to 17,363 (-7.7% change). The surname moved down 117 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,918 to #2,035.
FAQ
Hedrick surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hedrick?
Name Census estimates that about 19,911 living Americans carry the surname Hedrick. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 17,214 residents.
How common is Hedrick?
Hedrick ranks #2,035 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.81 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 17,363 people with the surname Hedrick. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (19,911), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.81 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.81 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Hedrick.
Has Hedrick become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hedrick went from 18,804 recorded bearers to 17,363. That is a decrease of 1,441 (-7.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,918 to #2,035.
What does the Census say about the background of Hedrick?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hedrick, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Hedrick in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.0% (15,624 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hedrick appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.0%), Two or More Races (3.2%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Hedrick (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 Hedrick mean?
Derived from a German place name meaning "heather-covered ridge." 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 Hedrick (5.81 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 Hedrick?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.