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

Hite, 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 Hite surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hite in America

Hite is the 3034th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hite surname appeared 11,810 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Hite.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hite 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 Hite

The surname HITE originated in Germany, where it first appeared around the late 12th century. It is derived from the Old German word "hiet," meaning a guard or watchman. The name was likely given to someone who performed this duty, either as a soldier or a night watchman in a town or village.

Some of the earliest recorded instances of the HITE surname can be found in medieval German records and manuscripts, such as the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus from the 13th century. The name was also mentioned in the Liber Census Daniæ, a Danish census from the 16th century, indicating that the name had spread to other parts of Northern Europe by that time.

One of the earliest known bearers of the HITE surname was Hans Hite, a German soldier who fought in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). Another notable figure was Jürgen Hite (1592-1657), a German merchant and explorer who was among the first Europeans to establish trade routes with India and the East Indies.

In the 17th century, several members of the HITE family immigrated to the American colonies, where the name evolved into various spellings such as HIGHT, HYTE, and HITE. One of the earliest recorded HITE settlers was Jost Hite (1652-1720), a German immigrant who established the town of Hite's Fort (now Strasburg) in Virginia.

Other notable individuals with the HITE surname include:

1. Isaac Hite (1758-1836), an American soldier and frontiersman who served in the Revolutionary War.
2. William Hite (1786-1856), an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Kentucky.
3. John Hite (1813-1892), a German-American brewer and entrepreneur who founded the Hite Brewery in Louisville, Kentucky.
4. Anna Hite (1858-1925), an American educator and suffragist who fought for women's rights and education reform.
5. William Hite (1878-1944), an American artist and painter known for his landscapes and portraiture.

While the HITE surname has its roots in medieval Germany, it has since spread across the world, with bearers found in various countries and communities.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hite

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

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 Hite 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 Hite 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 Hite was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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