2000
#9,570
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,117
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.16
Rare Last name
Hennings
Derived from a patronymic surname meaning "son of Henning," a Germanic given name meaning "ruler of the home."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,530 Americans carry the last name Hennings. That puts it at #9,999 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 97,098 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hennings 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 Hennings with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.5K
1 in 97,098
Census rank
#9,999
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,078 bearers of the surname Hennings in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9999th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hennings, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.8%. The next largest groups are Black (14.7%) and Hispanic (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hennings
The surname Hennings has its origins in Germany. It emerged in the Middle Ages, derived from the medieval German word 'Henninges,' meaning 'son of Henning.' Henning was a Germanic personal name with obscure origins but believed to be associated with the Old Norse word 'henar,' meaning 'hen' or 'rooster.'
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Hennings surname can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, dating back to the 13th century. The Hennings name appears in several legal documents and land transactions from this period, indicating its presence among the nobility and landowners of the region.
During the 14th century, the Hennings surname gained prominence in the city of Lübeck, a prominent member of the Hanseatic League. Records from this time show several notable individuals bearing the name, including Johann Hennings, a successful merchant and councilman who lived from 1320 to 1387.
As the Hennings family spread across Germany, variations in spelling emerged, such as Henninges, Henningsen, and Hennigs. Some of these variations were influenced by the local dialects and naming traditions of different regions.
In the 16th century, the Hennings name was associated with the city of Essen, where a prominent family of scholars and educators resided. One notable member was Johannes Hennings, born in 1542, who served as the rector of the Gymnasium Academicum in Essen and authored several works on theology and philosophy.
The Hennings surname also found its way into Scandinavia, particularly in Denmark and Sweden, where it was often spelled as Henningsen or Henningsson. In the 17th century, a notable figure was Niels Henningsen, a Danish astronomer and mathematician who lived from 1603 to 1667.
Other notable individuals bearing the Hennings surname throughout history include:
1. Gottfried Hennings (1638-1704), a German jurist and legal scholar from Saxony.
2. Adolph Friedrich Hennings (1694-1768), a German botanist and mycologist from Lübeck.
3. Friedrich Hennings (1848-1924), a German artist and painter from Hamburg.
4. Ernst Hennings (1886-1956), a German expressionist poet and writer from Flensburg.
5. Emmy Hennings (1885-1948), a German cabaret performer, actress, and writer, born in Flensburg.
Overall, the surname Hennings has a rich history spanning centuries and various regions of Germany, with branches extending into Scandinavia. Its presence can be traced back to the Middle Ages, and it has been associated with notable figures in fields such as commerce, education, science, and the arts.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hennings
Among Census respondents with the surname Hennings, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.8%. The next largest groups are Black (14.7%) and Hispanic (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Hennings 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 Hennings surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.8% · 2,334
- Black or African American14.7% · 454
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 131
- Two or more races3.7% · 115
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 37
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hennings
Hennings 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
#9,382
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,467
+350 bearers (+11.2%)
Per 100,000 1.18
Rank movement Up 188 places
2020
#9,999
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,078
-389 bearers (-11.2%)
Per 100,000 1.03
Rank movement Down 617 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,570 | 3,117 | 1.16 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,382 | 3,467 | 1.18 | +350 bearers (+11.2%) | Up 188 places |
| 2020 | #9,999 | 3,078 | 1.03 | -389 bearers (-11.2%) | Down 617 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 Hennings 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 | #9,382 | #9,999 | -6.6% |
| Count | 3,467 | 3,078 | -11.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.18 | 1.03 | -12.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hennings bearers went from 3,467 to 3,078 (-11.2% change). The surname moved down 617 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,382 to #9,999.
FAQ
Hennings surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hennings?
Name Census estimates that about 3,530 living Americans carry the surname Hennings. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 97,098 residents.
How common is Hennings?
Hennings ranks #9,999 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.03 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 3,078 people with the surname Hennings. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,530), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.03 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 Hennings.
Has Hennings become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hennings went from 3,467 recorded bearers to 3,078. That is a decrease of 389 (-11.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,382 to #9,999.
What does the Census say about the background of Hennings?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hennings, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.8%. The next largest groups are Black (14.7%) and Hispanic (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 Hennings in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.8% (2,334 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hennings appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.8%), Black (14.7%), Hispanic (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 Hennings (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 Hennings mean?
Derived from a patronymic surname meaning "son of Henning," a Germanic given name meaning "ruler of the home." 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 Hennings (1.03 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 have the surname Hennings?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.