2000
#138,741
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Hepokoski
Of Finnish origin, a locative surname referring to someone from the village of Hepokoski.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 116 Americans carry the last name Hepokoski. That puts it at #155,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,954,779 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hepokoski 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
116
1 in 2,954,779
Census rank
#155,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
101
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 101 bearers of the surname Hepokoski in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hepokoski, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.0%. The next largest groups are Black (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hepokoski
The surname Hepokoski originates from Finland, likely emerging in the late 16th or early 17th century. It is believed to be derived from the Finnish words "hepo" meaning horse and "koski" meaning rapids or small waterfall, potentially indicating a connection to a location with a horse-related waterway or rapid.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Hepokoski can be found in the parish records of Lapinlahti, a municipality in the Northern Savonia region of Finland, dating back to the late 1600s. The name may have originated in this area or nearby regions where Finnish was spoken.
In the 19th century, several individuals bearing the Hepokoski surname were mentioned in historical documents and records. Notable examples include Juho Hepokoski (1820-1892), a farmer and landowner in the Kuopio region, and Matti Hepokoski (1845-1912), a blacksmith and village elder in the municipality of Leppävirta.
As Finnish immigrants began to settle in North America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Hepokoski name made its way across the Atlantic. One of the earliest recorded instances was Antti Hepokoski (1875-1941), who emigrated from Finland to the United States in 1897 and settled in Minnesota, working as a farmer and logger.
Another notable individual was Armas Hepokoski (1892-1972), a Finnish-American businessman and entrepreneur who founded a successful construction company in New York City. He was born in Viitasaari, Finland, and immigrated to the United States in 1913.
In more recent times, the Hepokoski surname has remained relatively uncommon, but has been carried by individuals such as James Hepokoski (born 1952), an American musicologist and professor at Yale University, and Maija Hepokoski (born 1977), a Finnish cross-country skier who competed in the Winter Olympics in 2006 and 2010.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hepokoski
Among Census respondents with the surname Hepokoski, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.0%. The next largest groups are Black (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Hepokoski 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 Hepokoski surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.0% · 99
- Black or African American2.0% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hepokoski
Hepokoski 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
#149,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-1 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,654 places
2020
#155,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
-9 bearers (-8.2%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 5,875 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #138,741 | 111 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #149,395 | 110 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 10,654 places |
| 2020 | #155,270 | 101 | 0.03 | -9 bearers (-8.2%) | Down 5,875 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 Hepokoski 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 | #149,395 | #155,270 | -3.9% |
| Count | 110 | 101 | -8.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -15.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hepokoski bearers went from 110 to 101 (-8.2% change). The surname moved down 5,875 positions in the national ranking, going from #149,395 to #155,270.
FAQ
Hepokoski surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hepokoski?
Name Census estimates that about 116 living Americans carry the surname Hepokoski. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,954,779 residents.
How common is Hepokoski?
Hepokoski ranks #155,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 101 people with the surname Hepokoski. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (116), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Hepokoski.
Has Hepokoski become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hepokoski went from 110 recorded bearers to 101. That is a decrease of 9 (-8.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #149,395 to #155,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Hepokoski?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hepokoski, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.0%. The next largest groups are Black (2.0%). 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 Hepokoski in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.0% (99 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hepokoski appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.0%), Black (2.0%). 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 Hepokoski (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 Hepokoski mean?
Of Finnish origin, a locative surname referring to someone from the village of Hepokoski. 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 Hepokoski (0.03 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 are called Hepokoski?
For a quick modern take, check how common the surname Hepokoski is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.