2000
#13,036
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,156
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.80
Rare Last name
Hensler
Derived from a German occupational surname for a breeder of chickens or seller of poultry.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,259 Americans carry the last name Hensler. That puts it at #14,543 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 151,728 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hensler 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
2.3K
1 in 151,728
Census rank
#14,543
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,970 bearers of the surname Hensler in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14543rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hensler, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hensler
The surname HENSLER is of German origin, deriving from the medieval occupational name for a person who raised hens or poultry. It likely stems from the Middle High German word "hense" meaning chicken or hen, combined with the agent suffix "-er" indicating one who performs an action or occupation.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of present-day Germany, such as Bavaria and Saxony. One of the earliest known bearers was Johannes Hensler, a farmer mentioned in records from the town of Nuremberg in 1294.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in the form "Henseler" in the tax records of the city of Cologne. Another early bearer was Konrad Hensler, a landowner from the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, recorded in 1376.
The variant spelling "Henseler" was also found in the Berne Shriften, a collection of medieval Swiss manuscripts from the 15th century, referring to a certain Hans Henseler from the canton of Bern.
One notable figure in history with this surname was Johann Hensler (1572-1644), a German jurist and legal scholar from Nuremberg, who authored several influential works on criminal law and legal procedure.
Another prominent individual was Johann Christian Hensler (1753-1828), a German Protestant theologian and philosopher from Saxony, known for his writings on ethics and moral philosophy.
In the 18th century, Johann Gottfried Hensler (1737-1807) was a German painter and engraver from Nuremberg, renowned for his landscape paintings and etchings of rural scenes.
The surname also found its way to other parts of Europe, such as the Netherlands, where Cornelis Hensler (1592-1652) was a notable Dutch Golden Age painter specializing in portraiture and historical scenes.
In the 19th century, Christian Friedrich Hensler (1800-1889) was a German Protestant theologian and historian from Württemberg, best known for his work on the history of the Reformation.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hensler
Among Census respondents with the surname Hensler, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Hensler 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 Hensler surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.0% · 1,832
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 63
- Two or more races2.3% · 46
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 8
- Black or African American0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hensler
Hensler 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
#12,616
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,453
+297 bearers (+13.8%)
Per 100,000 0.83
Rank movement Up 420 places
2020
#14,543
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,970
-483 bearers (-19.7%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Down 1,927 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,036 | 2,156 | 0.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,616 | 2,453 | 0.83 | +297 bearers (+13.8%) | Up 420 places |
| 2020 | #14,543 | 1,970 | 0.66 | -483 bearers (-19.7%) | Down 1,927 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 Hensler 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 | #12,616 | #14,543 | -15.3% |
| Count | 2,453 | 1,970 | -19.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.83 | 0.66 | -20.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hensler bearers went from 2,453 to 1,970 (-19.7% change). The surname moved down 1,927 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,616 to #14,543.
FAQ
Hensler surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hensler?
Name Census estimates that about 2,259 living Americans carry the surname Hensler. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 151,728 residents.
How common is Hensler?
Hensler ranks #14,543 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.66 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 1,970 people with the surname Hensler. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,259), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.66 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 Hensler.
Has Hensler become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hensler went from 2,453 recorded bearers to 1,970. That is a decrease of 483 (-19.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,616 to #14,543.
What does the Census say about the background of Hensler?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hensler, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Hensler in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (1,832 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hensler appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.0%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Hensler (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 Hensler mean?
Derived from a German occupational surname for a breeder of chickens or seller of poultry. 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 Hensler (0.66 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 last name Hensler?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Hensler on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.