2000
#83,618
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 209
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.08
Very Rare Last name
Hershfield
A locative surname for someone from a place called Hirschfeld or Herschfeld, likely from Germany.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 273 Americans carry the last name Hershfield. That puts it at #84,785 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,255,510 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hershfield 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
273
1 in 1,255,510
Census rank
#84,785
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
238
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 238 bearers of the surname Hershfield in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 84785th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hershfield, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hershfield
The surname HERSHFIELD is of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, and it is believed to have originated in the 19th century in Central or Eastern Europe. The name is derived from the Yiddish word "hershfe," which means "authority" or "power." It is possible that the name was originally a descriptive one, referring to someone who held a position of authority or was perceived as powerful within the local community.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname HERSHFIELD can be traced back to the late 19th century in the Russian Empire, particularly in the regions of modern-day Ukraine, Belarus, and Poland. These areas had significant Jewish populations at the time, and many Jewish surnames emerged during this period.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname HERSHFIELD was Isaac HERSHFIELD, born in the late 1800s in a small town near present-day Lviv, Ukraine. He was a respected member of the local Jewish community and worked as a merchant.
In the early 20th century, the HERSHFIELD family began to emigrate from Eastern Europe to the United States and other parts of the world, seeking better opportunities and fleeing persecution. One notable individual from this period was Sarah HERSHFIELD (1895-1976), who settled in New York City and became an active member of the local Jewish community, working to support newly arrived immigrants.
Another prominent figure with the surname HERSHFIELD was Rabbi Moshe HERSHFIELD (1910-1992), who was born in a small town near Warsaw, Poland. He was a renowned scholar and Torah teacher, and after surviving the Holocaust, he relocated to Israel, where he established a yeshiva and became an influential figure in the Israeli Orthodox Jewish community.
In the realm of literature, the name HERSHFIELD is associated with David HERSHFIELD (1932-2007), an American author and playwright who wrote several critically acclaimed works exploring Jewish identity and the immigrant experience.
It is worth noting that variations of the surname, such as HERSHFILD or HERSHFEILD, may have existed in different regions, reflecting local dialect and pronunciation patterns. Additionally, the name may have been altered or anglicized upon immigration to various countries, further contributing to its diversity in spelling.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hershfield
Among Census respondents with the surname Hershfield, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Hershfield 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 Hershfield surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.7% · 211
- Hispanic or Latino8.0% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 3
- Two or more races1.3% · 3
- Black or African American0.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hershfield
Hershfield 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
#85,357
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 219
+10 bearers (+4.8%)
Per 100,000 0.07
Rank movement Down 1,739 places
2020
#84,785
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 238
+19 bearers (+8.7%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Up 572 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #83,618 | 209 | 0.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #85,357 | 219 | 0.07 | +10 bearers (+4.8%) | Down 1,739 places |
| 2020 | #84,785 | 238 | 0.08 | +19 bearers (+8.7%) | Up 572 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 Hershfield 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 | #85,357 | #84,785 | 0.7% |
| Count | 219 | 238 | 8.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.07 | 0.08 | 13.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hershfield bearers went from 219 to 238 (+8.7% change). The surname moved up 572 positions in the national ranking, going from #85,357 to #84,785.
FAQ
Hershfield surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hershfield?
Name Census estimates that about 273 living Americans carry the surname Hershfield. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,255,510 residents.
How common is Hershfield?
Hershfield ranks #84,785 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.08 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 238 people with the surname Hershfield. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (273), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.08 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.08 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 Hershfield.
Has Hershfield become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hershfield went from 219 recorded bearers to 238. That is an increase of 19 (+8.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #85,357 to #84,785.
What does the Census say about the background of Hershfield?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hershfield, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.3%). 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 Hershfield in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.7% (211 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hershfield appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.7%), Hispanic (8.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.3%). 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 Hershfield (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 Hershfield mean?
A locative surname for someone from a place called Hirschfeld or Herschfeld, likely from Germany. 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 Hershfield (0.08 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 share the surname Hershfield?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.