2000
#8,246
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,696
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.37
Rare Last name
Hersey
Derived from a place name meaning "deer enclosure" in Old English, referring to someone who lived near such an enclosure.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,142 Americans carry the last name Hersey. That puts it at #8,715 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.21 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 82,751 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hersey 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 Hersey with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.1K
1 in 82,751
Census rank
#8,715
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,612 bearers of the surname Hersey in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.21 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8715th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hersey, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.5%. The next largest groups are Black (7.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hersey
The surname Hersey originated from the Old Norse personal name Hirsi, which comes from the word "hirs" meaning a stag or male deer. The name was introduced to Britain by the Norse settlers who arrived from Scandinavia during the 8th to 11th centuries.
This surname is thought to have first appeared in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a record of landholders compiled by order of William the Conqueror. The Domesday Book recorded a few individuals with variations of the name, such as Hirsig and Hirsi.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the surname Hersey was William Hersey, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Worcestershire in 1195. The name was also found in various other medieval records, including the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which listed a Richard Hersey in Oxfordshire.
During the 13th and 14th centuries, the name was often spelled as Hyrsy, Hirsy, or Hersy. It was also associated with several place names, such as Hersey in Derbyshire, which was originally recorded as Hirsig in the Domesday Book.
Notable individuals with the surname Hersey include:
1. Sir Robert Hersey (c. 1390 - c. 1460), an English knight and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for Derbyshire in 1436.
2. John Hersey (1914 - 1993), an American writer and journalist best known for his book "Hiroshima," which described the aftermath of the atomic bomb dropped on the city in 1945.
3. Edmund Hersey (1591 - 1670), an early settler in Massachusetts Bay Colony and one of the founders of Hingham, Massachusetts.
4. Milton Hersey (1868 - 1954), an American businessman who founded the Hershey Chocolate Company in 1894, which later became known as The Hershey Company.
5. John Hersey (1779 - 1855), an American politician who served as the 8th Governor of Maine from 1837 to 1841.
The surname Hersey has undergone various spelling variations over the centuries, including Hercy, Hursee, and Hursey, but it has retained its connection to its Old Norse roots and the image of the male deer or stag.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hersey
Among Census respondents with the surname Hersey, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.5%. The next largest groups are Black (7.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Hersey 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 Hersey surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.5% · 3,053
- Black or African American7.7% · 277
- Two or more races4.2% · 151
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 78
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 38
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hersey
Hersey 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
#8,689
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,780
+84 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 1.28
Rank movement Down 443 places
2020
#8,715
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,612
-168 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 1.21
Rank movement Down 26 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,246 | 3,696 | 1.37 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,689 | 3,780 | 1.28 | +84 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 443 places |
| 2020 | #8,715 | 3,612 | 1.21 | -168 bearers (-4.4%) | Down 26 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 Hersey 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 | #8,689 | #8,715 | -0.3% |
| Count | 3,780 | 3,612 | -4.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.28 | 1.21 | -5.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hersey bearers went from 3,780 to 3,612 (-4.4% change). The surname moved down 26 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,689 to #8,715.
FAQ
Hersey surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hersey?
Name Census estimates that about 4,142 living Americans carry the surname Hersey. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 82,751 residents.
How common is Hersey?
Hersey ranks #8,715 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.21 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 3,612 people with the surname Hersey. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,142), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.21 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.21 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 Hersey.
Has Hersey become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hersey went from 3,780 recorded bearers to 3,612. That is a decrease of 168 (-4.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,689 to #8,715.
What does the Census say about the background of Hersey?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hersey, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.5%. The next largest groups are Black (7.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Hersey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.5% (3,053 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hersey appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.5%), Black (7.7%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Hersey (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 Hersey mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "deer enclosure" in Old English, referring to someone who lived near such an enclosure. 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 Hersey (1.21 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 Hersey?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.