Find out how popular the last name Hirst is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Hirst.

Hirst, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Hirst surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hirst in America

Hirst is the 9011th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hirst surname appeared 3,630 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Hirst.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hirst to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Hirst

The surname Hirst originates from England and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English word 'hyrst', meaning a wooded hill or a hillock. The name is believed to have been initially used as a topographic name, referring to someone who lived near or worked on a wooded hill.

The earliest known record of the name Hirst can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from the year 1166, where a person named Ricardus de Hirst is mentioned. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the Yorkshire region by the 12th century.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, the place name 'Hirst' is recorded in various forms, such as 'Hyrst', 'Hirst', and 'Hirsit', indicating the variations in spelling that existed during that time. These place names were likely the origins of many Hirst surnames.

One notable historical figure with the surname Hirst was Sir Richard Hirst (1633-1688), an English politician and landowner from Yorkshire. He served as a Member of Parliament for Grantham in the late 17th century.

Another prominent figure was Thomas Arding Hirst (1830-1892), a British industrialist and philanthropist from Lancashire. He founded the Hirst Engineering Company and was known for his contributions to the development of textile machinery.

In the literary world, Amelia Hirst (1809-1892) was a notable English writer and poet from Yorkshire. She published several volumes of poetry and was celebrated for her descriptive and naturalistic writing style.

The surname Hirst was also associated with the arts through the work of Damien Hirst (born 1965), a renowned English artist and a leading figure in the Young British Artists movement. His controversial works, such as the iconic shark suspended in formaldehyde, have made him one of the most influential contemporary artists.

Another notable figure was George Hirst (1888-1954), an English cricketer who played for Yorkshire and England. He was a prolific batsman and is regarded as one of the greatest players of his era, scoring over 36,000 runs in his career.

Throughout its history, the surname Hirst has maintained a strong presence in various regions of England, particularly Yorkshire and Lancashire, where many families bearing this name can be found.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hirst

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Hirst.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Hirst was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Hirst has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Hirst was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Hirst, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!