2000
#8,554
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,546
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.31
Rare Last name
Hirst
An English toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "wooded hill" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,031 Americans carry the last name Hirst. That puts it at #8,933 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.18 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 85,030 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hirst 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 Hirst with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.0K
1 in 85,030
Census rank
#8,933
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,515 bearers of the surname Hirst in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.18 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8933rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hirst, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hirst
Among Census respondents with the surname Hirst, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Hirst 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 Hirst surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.7% · 3,187
- Two or more races3.8% · 132
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 121
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 28
- Black or African American0.7% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 22
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hirst
Hirst 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
#9,011
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,630
+84 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 1.23
Rank movement Down 457 places
2020
#8,933
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,515
-115 bearers (-3.2%)
Per 100,000 1.18
Rank movement Up 78 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,554 | 3,546 | 1.31 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,011 | 3,630 | 1.23 | +84 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 457 places |
| 2020 | #8,933 | 3,515 | 1.18 | -115 bearers (-3.2%) | Up 78 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 Hirst 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 | #9,011 | #8,933 | 0.9% |
| Count | 3,630 | 3,515 | -3.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.23 | 1.18 | -4.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hirst bearers went from 3,630 to 3,515 (-3.2% change). The surname moved up 78 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,011 to #8,933.
FAQ
Hirst surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hirst?
Name Census estimates that about 4,031 living Americans carry the surname Hirst. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 85,030 residents.
How common is Hirst?
Hirst ranks #8,933 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.18 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 3,515 people with the surname Hirst. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,031), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.18 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.18 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 Hirst.
Has Hirst become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hirst went from 3,630 recorded bearers to 3,515. That is a decrease of 115 (-3.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,011 to #8,933.
What does the Census say about the background of Hirst?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hirst, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Hirst in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.7% (3,187 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hirst appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.7%), Two or More Races (3.8%), Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Hirst (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 Hirst mean?
An English toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "wooded hill" 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 Hirst (1.18 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 Hirst?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.