2000
#7,937
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,865
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.43
Rare Last name
Henninger
A German occupational surname referring to a hen farmer or a person who kept chickens.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,181 Americans carry the last name Henninger. That puts it at #8,641 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.22 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 81,979 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Henninger 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
4.2K
1 in 81,979
Census rank
#8,641
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,646 bearers of the surname Henninger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.22 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8641st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Henninger, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Henninger
The surname Henninger is of German origin, tracing its roots back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have originated in the region of Bavaria, where it was initially used as a descriptive name referring to a person associated with hens or chickens. The name is derived from the Middle High German word "hennin," meaning "hen" or "rooster."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Henninger can be found in the Bavarian town of Augsburg, where a certain Hans Henninger was mentioned in a legal document dated 1437. This document suggests that the Henninger family had already established themselves in the region by the 15th century.
In the 16th century, the name Henninger began to appear in various records and manuscripts across Germany. In the city of Nuremberg, a wealthy merchant named Johann Henninger (1520-1587) was a prominent figure in the local trade guild. His success and influence likely contributed to the widespread recognition of the Henninger name.
The Henninger surname also has a connection to place names. In the town of Hennigsdorf, located in the state of Brandenburg, the name is believed to have originated from the town's original name, "Hennigisdorp," which means "Hennig's village" in Low German. This suggests that some Henningers may have derived their name from a specific geographic location.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the Henninger surname. One such figure was Johann Jakob Henninger (1658-1730), a German Lutheran theologian and author who served as a professor at the University of Giessen. Another prominent Henninger was Johann Baptist Henninger (1786-1862), a German Catholic priest and writer who was known for his work on church history.
In the 19th century, the Henninger name gained prominence in the United States through the success of the Henninger Brewing Company, founded in 1849 by German immigrant Christian Henninger (1809-1872) in Syracuse, New York. The company's iconic Henninger beer became a popular brand, further cementing the Henninger name in American history.
Other notable individuals with the Henninger surname include Johann Georg Henninger (1767-1823), a German painter and engraver, and Samuel P. Henninger (1856-1935), an American businessman and politician who served as the mayor of Syracuse, New York, from 1889 to 1891.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Henninger
Among Census respondents with the surname Henninger, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Henninger 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 Henninger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 3,362
- Two or more races3.6% · 132
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 115
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 29
- Black or African American0.1% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Henninger
Henninger 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
#7,784
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,262
+397 bearers (+10.3%)
Per 100,000 1.44
Rank movement Up 153 places
2020
#8,641
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,646
-616 bearers (-14.5%)
Per 100,000 1.22
Rank movement Down 857 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,937 | 3,865 | 1.43 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,784 | 4,262 | 1.44 | +397 bearers (+10.3%) | Up 153 places |
| 2020 | #8,641 | 3,646 | 1.22 | -616 bearers (-14.5%) | Down 857 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 Henninger 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 | #7,784 | #8,641 | -11.0% |
| Count | 4,262 | 3,646 | -14.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.44 | 1.22 | -15.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Henninger bearers went from 4,262 to 3,646 (-14.5% change). The surname moved down 857 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,784 to #8,641.
FAQ
Henninger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Henninger?
Name Census estimates that about 4,181 living Americans carry the surname Henninger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 81,979 residents.
How common is Henninger?
Henninger ranks #8,641 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.22 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 3,646 people with the surname Henninger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,181), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.22 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.22 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 Henninger.
Has Henninger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Henninger went from 4,262 recorded bearers to 3,646. That is a decrease of 616 (-14.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,784 to #8,641.
What does the Census say about the background of Henninger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Henninger, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Henninger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (3,362 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Henninger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Henninger (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 Henninger mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a hen farmer or a person who kept chickens. 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 Henninger (1.22 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 Henninger?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.