2000
#11,410
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,533
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.94
Rare Last name
Hennen
Derived from a German nickname meaning "little hen" or from a short form of German names beginning with "Hen-".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,879 Americans carry the last name Hennen. That puts it at #11,914 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 119,053 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hennen 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
2.9K
1 in 119,053
Census rank
#11,914
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,511 bearers of the surname Hennen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11914th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hennen, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hennen
The surname Hennen originated in the Low Countries region of Europe, encompassing parts of modern-day Belgium, the Netherlands, and northern France. It first emerged in the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century.
The name Hennen is believed to be derived from the medieval Dutch or Flemish word "henne," which means "hen" or "chicken." This suggests that the name may have originally been an occupational surname, referring to someone who raised or traded in poultry.
One of the earliest known references to the Hennen surname can be found in the records of the town of Brecht in the Duchy of Brabant (now part of Belgium), where a certain "Jan Hennen" is mentioned in a document dated 1367.
In the 15th century, the name appears in the records of the city of Bruges, one of the most important commercial centers of the time. A merchant named "Joos Hennen" is recorded as having been active in the city's thriving textile trade in the year 1463.
As the Hennen name spread across the Low Countries, it also underwent various spelling variations, such as "Henne," "Hennin," and "Hennin." These variants reflect the diverse dialects and linguistic influences of the region.
One notable bearer of the Hennen surname was Jan Hennen (c. 1450 - c. 1520), a renowned painter from the city of Leuven (in modern-day Belgium). He is best known for his altarpiece commissioned for the Church of St. Peter in Leuven, which he completed in 1498.
Another prominent individual with the Hennen surname was Pieter Hennen (1588 - 1654), a Dutch Golden Age painter from Amsterdam. He was particularly skilled in portraiture and genre scenes, and his works can be found in various museums across the Netherlands.
In the 18th century, a notable figure was Theodoor Hennen (1712 - 1786), a Dutch military officer and engineer who served in the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia). He was responsible for designing and overseeing the construction of several fortifications and infrastructure projects in the Dutch colonies.
Moving into the 19th century, we find Johann Hennen (1785 - 1856), a German-born military surgeon who served in the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars. He made significant contributions to the field of military medicine and wrote several influential works on the treatment of gunshot wounds.
Another noteworthy individual was Gottfried Hennen (1817 - 1899), a German mathematician and educator. He was a professor at the University of Marburg and made important contributions to the study of algebraic geometry and number theory.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hennen
Among Census respondents with the surname Hennen, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Hennen 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 Hennen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.4% · 2,371
- Two or more races2.5% · 62
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 47
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 18
- Black or African American0.4% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hennen
Hennen 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
#11,322
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,787
+254 bearers (+10.0%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Up 88 places
2020
#11,914
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,511
-276 bearers (-9.9%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Down 592 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,410 | 2,533 | 0.94 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,322 | 2,787 | 0.94 | +254 bearers (+10.0%) | Up 88 places |
| 2020 | #11,914 | 2,511 | 0.84 | -276 bearers (-9.9%) | Down 592 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 Hennen 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 | #11,322 | #11,914 | -5.2% |
| Count | 2,787 | 2,511 | -9.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.94 | 0.84 | -10.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hennen bearers went from 2,787 to 2,511 (-9.9% change). The surname moved down 592 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,322 to #11,914.
FAQ
Hennen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hennen?
Name Census estimates that about 2,879 living Americans carry the surname Hennen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 119,053 residents.
How common is Hennen?
Hennen ranks #11,914 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.84 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 2,511 people with the surname Hennen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,879), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.84 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 Hennen.
Has Hennen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hennen went from 2,787 recorded bearers to 2,511. That is a decrease of 276 (-9.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,322 to #11,914.
What does the Census say about the background of Hennen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hennen, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Hennen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.4% (2,371 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hennen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.4%), Two or More Races (2.5%), Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Hennen (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 Hennen mean?
Derived from a German nickname meaning "little hen" or from a short form of German names beginning with "Hen-". 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 Hennen (0.84 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 Hennen?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.