2000
#12,524
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,269
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.84
Rare Last name
Hoadley
From the English place name Hoadley, derived from Old English "hēafod" meaning "head" and "lēah" meaning "woodland clearing."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,482 Americans carry the last name Hoadley. That puts it at #13,452 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.72 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 138,096 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hoadley 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 Hoadley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.5K
1 in 138,096
Census rank
#13,452
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,164 bearers of the surname Hoadley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.72 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13452nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoadley, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hoadley
The surname Hoadley is of English origin, tracing its roots back to the medieval period. It is believed to have originated as a locational name, derived from the place name Hoadly, a small hamlet near Guildford in the county of Surrey, England.
The name Hoadly itself is thought to be derived from the Old English words 'hoh' meaning 'heel' or 'ridge' and 'leah' meaning 'woodland clearing' or 'meadow'. This suggests that the original bearers of the name likely hailed from a settlement located on a ridge or heel-shaped hill within a woodland clearing.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire from the year 1195, where a person named William de Houedley is mentioned. This early spelling variation highlights the evolution of the name over time.
In the late 13th century, the name Hoadly appeared in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire, a record of landowners and their holdings. This suggests that by this time, the family had established themselves as notable landowners in the region.
During the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the name was John Hoadly (c. 1500 - c. 1570), a wealthy merchant and alderman of the City of London. His son, Benjamin Hoadly (1576 - 1641), was a renowned clergyman and author who served as Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland.
Another significant figure was Benjamin Hoadly (1676 - 1761), a controversial Anglican bishop who was a leading figure in the Bangorian Controversy, a theological debate that polarized the Church of England in the early 18th century. He served as Bishop of Bangor, Hereford, Salisbury, and Winchester.
In the 19th century, Benjamin Tompson Hoadley (1783 - 1865) was a notable British civil engineer who worked on several significant projects, including the construction of the London and Birmingham Railway.
Other notable individuals with the surname Hoadley include the American actors Jonathan Hoadley (1944 - 1995) and David Hoadley (1932 - 2020), as well as the British actor and writer Ralph Hoadley (1932 - 2005).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hoadley
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoadley, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Hoadley 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 Hoadley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.4% · 1,957
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 92
- Two or more races3.7% · 80
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 19
- Black or African American0.6% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hoadley
Hoadley 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
#13,241
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,306
+37 bearers (+1.6%)
Per 100,000 0.78
Rank movement Down 717 places
2020
#13,452
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,164
-142 bearers (-6.2%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Down 211 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,524 | 2,269 | 0.84 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,241 | 2,306 | 0.78 | +37 bearers (+1.6%) | Down 717 places |
| 2020 | #13,452 | 2,164 | 0.72 | -142 bearers (-6.2%) | Down 211 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 Hoadley 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 | #13,241 | #13,452 | -1.6% |
| Count | 2,306 | 2,164 | -6.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.78 | 0.72 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hoadley bearers went from 2,306 to 2,164 (-6.2% change). The surname moved down 211 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,241 to #13,452.
FAQ
Hoadley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hoadley?
Name Census estimates that about 2,482 living Americans carry the surname Hoadley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 138,096 residents.
How common is Hoadley?
Hoadley ranks #13,452 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.72 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 2,164 people with the surname Hoadley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,482), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.72 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.72 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 Hoadley.
Has Hoadley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hoadley went from 2,306 recorded bearers to 2,164. That is a decrease of 142 (-6.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,241 to #13,452.
What does the Census say about the background of Hoadley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoadley, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Hoadley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.4% (1,957 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hoadley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.4%), Hispanic (4.3%), Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Hoadley (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 Hoadley mean?
From the English place name Hoadley, derived from Old English "hēafod" meaning "head" and "lēah" meaning "woodland clearing." 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 Hoadley (0.72 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 Americans have the surname Hoadley?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.