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

Hennig, 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 Hennig surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hennig in America

Hennig is the 12775th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hennig surname appeared 2,415 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 Hennig.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hennig 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 Hennig

The surname HENNIG is of German origin, with its roots dating back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Germanic personal name "Henning," which itself comes from the Old High German words "hagan" meaning "hedge" or "enclosure," and "nang" meaning "courage" or "valor."

The earliest known references to the surname HENNIG can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of present-day Germany, particularly in the areas around Saxony and Thuringia. It is believed that the name was initially used as a descriptive surname, referring to someone who lived near a hedge or enclosure, or someone who exhibited bravery and courage.

In the historical records, the name appears with various spellings, such as Henninges, Henniges, and Hennigs, reflecting the regional variations in language and dialects. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, dating back to the 13th century.

Notable individuals with the surname HENNIG throughout history include Johann Hennig (1572-1618), a German astronomer and mathematician who was one of the first to calculate the elliptical orbits of comets. Another prominent figure was Johann Wilhelm Hennig (1786-1822), a German botanist and naturalist who made significant contributions to the study of plant taxonomy.

In the 16th century, the HENNIG family established itself in the town of Großenhain, near Dresden, where a branch of the family can be traced back to Caspar Hennig (1529-1600), a prominent merchant and landowner. His descendants included several notable figures, such as Christian Friedrich Hennig (1668-1744), a Lutheran theologian and writer.

Another notable person with the surname HENNIG was Willy Hennig (1913-1976), a German entomologist and biologist who developed the principles of phylogenetic systematics, a method for reconstructing the evolutionary relationships between species based on shared derived characteristics.

Throughout the centuries, the surname HENNIG has also been associated with various place names, such as Hennigsdorf, a town in Brandenburg, Germany, which likely derived its name from an early settler with the surname HENNIG.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hennig

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

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

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

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