2000
#130,443
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Hobrock
A locational surname derived from a place name, likely of German origin.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Hobrock. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hobrock 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Hobrock in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hobrock, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hobrock
The surname HOBROCK is believed to have originated in the Germanic regions of central Europe, likely in the area that is now modern-day Germany. It is thought to have emerged sometime during the Middle Ages, between the 5th and 15th centuries.
One theory suggests that the name is derived from the Old Germanic words "hob" or "hof," meaning a courtyard or an enclosed area, and "rock," which can refer to a rock or a rocky outcrop. This could indicate that the name was initially given to someone who lived near or worked in an enclosed courtyard or a rocky area.
Another possible origin is that HOBROCK is a locational surname, referring to a specific place or town. In this case, the name may have been taken from a now-obscure or long-abandoned settlement or geographic feature, such as a hill, stream, or valley.
While there are no definitive records of the earliest use of the HOBROCK surname, it is believed to have been established by the 13th or 14th century. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the chronicles of the German city of Nuremberg, where a Hans Hobrock is mentioned as a resident in the year 1412.
Throughout the centuries, the HOBROCK name has been subject to various spelling variations, including Hobrok, Hobrook, Hobrok, and Hobroch, among others. These variations likely arose due to regional dialects, scribal errors, or variations in pronunciation over time.
One notable figure bearing the HOBROCK surname was Johann Hobrock, a German painter and engraver who lived in the 16th century (c. 1535-1610). He was known for his intricate engravings depicting religious and mythological scenes.
Another historical figure was Friedrich Hobrock, a German philosopher and theologian born in 1618. He authored several works on ethics and moral philosophy and was a prominent figure in the intellectual circles of his time.
In the 19th century, a man named Wilhelm Hobrock (1804-1884) gained recognition as a successful businessman and industrialist in the textile industry in the German city of Krefeld.
Moving to the 20th century, Otto Hobrock (1892-1965) was a German architect who designed several notable buildings in Berlin and other cities during the early to mid-1900s.
Finally, one of the more recent notable individuals with the HOBROCK surname was Ingrid Hobrock (1920-2005), a German-born American artist and sculptor who was active in the San Francisco Bay Area art scene for several decades.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hobrock
Among Census respondents with the surname Hobrock, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Hobrock 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 Hobrock surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.8% · 108
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 4
- Two or more races3.4% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hobrock
Hobrock 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
#135,593
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124
+4 bearers (+3.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,150 places
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
-5 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,195 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #130,443 | 120 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #135,593 | 124 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+3.3%) | Down 5,150 places |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 7,195 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 Hobrock 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 | #135,593 | #142,788 | -5.3% |
| Count | 124 | 119 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hobrock bearers went from 124 to 119 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 7,195 positions in the national ranking, going from #135,593 to #142,788.
FAQ
Hobrock surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hobrock?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Hobrock. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Hobrock?
Hobrock ranks #142,788 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 119 people with the surname Hobrock. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Hobrock.
Has Hobrock become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hobrock went from 124 recorded bearers to 119. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #135,593 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Hobrock?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hobrock, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%) and Two or More Races (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 Hobrock in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.8% (108 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hobrock appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%), Two or More Races (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 Hobrock (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 Hobrock mean?
A locational surname derived from a place name, likely of German origin. 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 Hobrock (0.04 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 share the surname Hobrock?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.