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

Hense, 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 Hense surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hense in America

Hense is the 48347th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hense surname appeared 437 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Hense.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hense 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 Hense

The surname Hense is believed to have originated in the northwest region of Germany, specifically in the state of Lower Saxony. It is thought to have derived from the Old German word "henne," meaning "hen" or "chicken." This connection suggests that the name may have initially referred to a poultry farmer, poultry breeder, or someone who worked closely with chickens.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hense can be found in the Bremisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of historical documents from the city of Bremen, dating back to the 13th century. The name is mentioned in a document from the year 1289, which references a man named Henricus Hense.

During the Middle Ages, the name Hense appeared in various records across northern Germany. One notable example is the Lübecker Ratslineage, a record of the members of the city council in Lübeck, which lists a man named Hermen Hense who served as a councilor in the year 1424.

As the name spread across Europe, it underwent several spelling variations. In the Netherlands, for instance, the name was often spelled as "Hens" or "Hensen." In the 16th century, a Dutch merchant named Joos Hens was involved in the lucrative spice trade between Europe and the East Indies.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name Hense in England was Giles Hense, who was born in Saxony around 1585 and later immigrated to London. He worked as a tailor and is mentioned in the records of the Merchant Taylors' Company in the early 17th century.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Hense. Johann Hense (1647-1709) was a German theologian and philosopher who wrote extensively on metaphysics and natural philosophy. Joachim Hense (1788-1870) was a renowned German artist known for his landscape paintings and etchings.

In the 19th century, Carl Constantin Hense (1818-1890) was a German classical scholar and philologist who made significant contributions to the study of ancient Greek literature. Another notable figure was Paul Hense (1859-1925), a German politician and journalist who served as a member of the Reichstag and was actively involved in the Social Democratic Party of Germany.

The surname Hense has also been associated with various places and localities over the centuries. For example, there is a village called Hense in the Emsland region of Lower Saxony, which may have derived its name from the surname or vice versa.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hense

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

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

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

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