2000
#91,004
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 188
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.07
Very Rare Last name
Hickenlooper
A German occupational surname referring to someone who picked frogs or gathered chickens.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 259 Americans carry the last name Hickenlooper. That puts it at #88,273 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,323,376 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hickenlooper 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
259
1 in 1,323,376
Census rank
#88,273
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
226
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 226 bearers of the surname Hickenlooper in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 88273rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hickenlooper, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hickenlooper
The surname HICKENLOOPER is of English origin, emerging in the late medieval period, around the 14th or 15th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "hicca," meaning a small brook or stream, and "hlopu," meaning a loop or winding course. Thus, HICKENLOOPER likely referred to a person living near a small, winding stream.
The earliest recorded instances of the HICKENLOOPER surname can be found in parish records and court rolls from counties such as Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire in England. The name appeared with various spellings, including Hickinlooper, Hickenloper, and Hickelooper, reflecting the fluid nature of surname spellings during that era.
One of the earliest known HICKENLOOPERS was John Hickenlooper, born around 1520 in Oxfordshire. He is mentioned in the Diocesan Records of Oxford, where he is listed as a landowner in the village of Ascott-under-Wychwood.
In the 17th century, the HICKENLOOPER surname gained prominence through the efforts of William Hickenlooper (1615-1682), a successful merchant and landowner from Gloucestershire. His son, John Hickenlooper (1647-1721), served as the High Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1695.
Another notable figure was Thomas Hickenlooper (1779-1857), a British military officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars and later became a Member of Parliament for the borough of Woodstock in Oxfordshire.
During the 19th century, several HICKENLOOPERS emigrated from England to the United States, bringing the surname to the New World. One such individual was Henry Hickenlooper (1822-1905), who settled in Ohio and became a prosperous farmer and businessman.
In the 20th century, the HICKENLOOPER surname gained further prominence with the political career of John Hickenlooper (born 1942), who served as the Mayor of Denver, Colorado, from 2003 to 2011, and later as the Governor of Colorado from 2011 to 2019.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hickenlooper
Among Census respondents with the surname Hickenlooper, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Hickenlooper 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 Hickenlooper surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.8% · 212
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 6
- Two or more races2.2% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 2
- Black or African American0.4% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hickenlooper
Hickenlooper 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
#93,921
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 195
+7 bearers (+3.7%)
Per 100,000 0.07
Rank movement Down 2,917 places
2020
#88,273
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 226
+31 bearers (+15.9%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Up 5,648 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #91,004 | 188 | 0.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #93,921 | 195 | 0.07 | +7 bearers (+3.7%) | Down 2,917 places |
| 2020 | #88,273 | 226 | 0.08 | +31 bearers (+15.9%) | Up 5,648 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 Hickenlooper 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 | #93,921 | #88,273 | 6.0% |
| Count | 195 | 226 | 15.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.07 | 0.08 | 8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hickenlooper bearers went from 195 to 226 (+15.9% change). The surname moved up 5,648 positions in the national ranking, going from #93,921 to #88,273.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hickenlooper
FAQ
Hickenlooper surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hickenlooper?
Name Census estimates that about 259 living Americans carry the surname Hickenlooper. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,323,376 residents.
How common is Hickenlooper?
Hickenlooper ranks #88,273 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 226 people with the surname Hickenlooper. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (259), 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 Hickenlooper.
Has Hickenlooper become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hickenlooper went from 195 recorded bearers to 226. That is an increase of 31 (+15.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #93,921 to #88,273.
What does the Census say about the background of Hickenlooper?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hickenlooper, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Hickenlooper in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.8% (212 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hickenlooper appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.8%), Hispanic (2.7%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Hickenlooper (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 Hickenlooper mean?
A German occupational surname referring to someone who picked frogs or gathered chickens. 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 Hickenlooper (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 are called Hickenlooper?
Find out how many people have the surname Hickenlooper on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.