2000
#9,967
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,987
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.11
Rare Last name
Hickok
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "nook of land" or "secluded corner" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,861 Americans carry the last name Hickok. That puts it at #11,971 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.83 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 119,802 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hickok 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
2.9K
1 in 119,802
Census rank
#11,971
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,495 bearers of the surname Hickok in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.83 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11971st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hickok, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hickok
The surname Hickok is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "hicce," meaning a young buck or male deer. It is believed to have originated as a nickname or descriptive name during the Middle Ages.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Hickok can be traced back to the 13th century in various parts of England, particularly in the counties of Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and Warwickshire. In medieval records, the name appeared with variations such as Hicke, Hicok, and Hiccock.
One of the earliest known references to the name Hickok can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273, which mentions a person named Adam Hicok. Additionally, the Pipe Rolls of Warwickshire from 1296 record a William Hicok.
In the 16th century, the surname Hickok began to appear more frequently in various English parish records and documents. Notable individuals bearing this surname during this period include Thomas Hickok, who was born in Buckinghamshire in 1542, and John Hickok, a farmer from Oxfordshire, born in 1578.
The name Hickok has also been associated with several prominent figures throughout history. One of the most famous was James Butler Hickok, better known as "Wild Bill" Hickok (1837-1876), an American frontier lawman and gunfighter who gained notoriety during the American Old West.
Other notable individuals with the surname Hickok include:
1. Walter Hickok (1742-1817), a American Revolutionary War soldier from Connecticut.
2. Lorena Hickok (1893-1968), an American journalist and close friend of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
3. Eugene Hickok (1924-2011), an American politician who served as the United States Deputy Secretary of Education.
4. Ralph Hickok (1908-1994), an American sports writer and editor known for his contributions to baseball history.
5. William Hickok (1815-1892), an American architect and civil engineer who designed several notable buildings in New York City.
While the surname Hickok is of English origin, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through immigration and migration patterns. However, it remains most prevalent in English-speaking countries and regions with significant British influence.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hickok
Among Census respondents with the surname Hickok, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Hickok 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 Hickok surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.7% · 2,264
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 101
- Two or more races3.0% · 74
- Black or African American0.9% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 17
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hickok
Hickok 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
#11,836
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,645
-342 bearers (-11.4%)
Per 100,000 0.90
Rank movement Down 1,869 places
2020
#11,971
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,495
-150 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.83
Rank movement Down 135 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,967 | 2,987 | 1.11 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,836 | 2,645 | 0.90 | -342 bearers (-11.4%) | Down 1,869 places |
| 2020 | #11,971 | 2,495 | 0.83 | -150 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 135 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 Hickok 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 | #11,836 | #11,971 | -1.1% |
| Count | 2,645 | 2,495 | -5.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.90 | 0.83 | -7.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hickok bearers went from 2,645 to 2,495 (-5.7% change). The surname moved down 135 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,836 to #11,971.
FAQ
Hickok surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hickok?
Name Census estimates that about 2,861 living Americans carry the surname Hickok. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 119,802 residents.
How common is Hickok?
Hickok ranks #11,971 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.83 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 2,495 people with the surname Hickok. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,861), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.83 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.83 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 Hickok.
Has Hickok become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hickok went from 2,645 recorded bearers to 2,495. That is a decrease of 150 (-5.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,836 to #11,971.
What does the Census say about the background of Hickok?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hickok, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Hickok in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.7% (2,264 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hickok appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.7%), Hispanic (4.0%), Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Hickok (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 Hickok mean?
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "nook of land" or "secluded corner" in Old English. 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 Hickok (0.83 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 Hickok?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Hickok, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.