2000
#16,427
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,613
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.60
Rare Last name
Hentges
A locative German surname referring to a person from Hengst or Hengestfeld.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,758 Americans carry the last name Hentges. That puts it at #17,966 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.51 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 194,968 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hentges 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
1.8K
1 in 194,968
Census rank
#17,966
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,533 bearers of the surname Hentges in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.51 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 17966th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hentges, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.0%) and Two or More Races (1.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hentges
The surname HENTGES originates from Germany, specifically the southern region of the country known as Bavaria. It is believed to have emerged in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. The name is derived from the Germanic root words "hent" and "ges," which together mean "one who grasps or holds with the hand."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the HENTGES surname can be found in the town records of Nuremberg, where a certain Hans Hentges is mentioned as a resident in the year 1423. This suggests that the name had already been in use for some time before then.
In the 16th century, a notable figure with the HENTGES name was Johann Hentges, a prominent merchant and trader who lived in the city of Augsburg. He is mentioned in several historical documents from that era, including records of trade agreements with other German states.
The HENTGES surname continued to be most prevalent in the Bavarian region throughout the following centuries. In the 18th century, a man named Georg Hentges gained recognition as a skilled woodcarver and sculptor, with many of his works still preserved in churches and museums across southern Germany.
As the name spread beyond its original Bavarian homeland, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Hentges, Hentjes, and Hentsche. One notable individual with this variant spelling was Friedrich Hentsche, a 19th-century German philosopher and author who wrote extensively on topics of ethics and morality.
Another significant figure bearing the HENTGES surname was Karl Hentges, a German politician and statesman who served as a member of the Reichstag (the German parliament) in the late 19th century. He was a vocal advocate for workers' rights and social reforms during the industrialization of Germany.
While the HENTGES name has its roots in Germany, it has also been carried by individuals of other nationalities throughout history. For example, in the early 20th century, there was a Dutch artist named Willem Hentges who gained recognition for his impressionist-style landscape paintings.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hentges
Among Census respondents with the surname Hentges, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.0%) and Two or More Races (1.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Hentges 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 Hentges surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.0% · 1,456
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 31
- Two or more races1.6% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 8
- Black or African American0.3% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hentges
Hentges 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
#17,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,593
-20 bearers (-1.2%)
Per 100,000 0.54
Rank movement Down 1,212 places
2020
#17,966
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,533
-60 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.51
Rank movement Down 327 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #16,427 | 1,613 | 0.60 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #17,639 | 1,593 | 0.54 | -20 bearers (-1.2%) | Down 1,212 places |
| 2020 | #17,966 | 1,533 | 0.51 | -60 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 327 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 Hentges 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 | #17,639 | #17,966 | -1.9% |
| Count | 1,593 | 1,533 | -3.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.54 | 0.51 | -5.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hentges bearers went from 1,593 to 1,533 (-3.8% change). The surname moved down 327 positions in the national ranking, going from #17,639 to #17,966.
FAQ
Hentges surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hentges?
Name Census estimates that about 1,758 living Americans carry the surname Hentges. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 194,968 residents.
How common is Hentges?
Hentges ranks #17,966 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.51 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 1,533 people with the surname Hentges. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,758), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.51 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.51 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 Hentges.
Has Hentges become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hentges went from 1,593 recorded bearers to 1,533. That is a decrease of 60 (-3.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #17,639 to #17,966.
What does the Census say about the background of Hentges?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hentges, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.0%) and Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Hentges in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.0% (1,456 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hentges appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.0%), Hispanic (2.0%), Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Hentges (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 Hentges mean?
A locative German surname referring to a person from Hengst or Hengestfeld. 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 Hentges (0.51 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 Hentges?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.