2010
#154,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Hobus
An English surname derived from a Germanic personal name meaning "bright mind" or "intelligent".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 139 Americans carry the last name Hobus. That puts it at #141,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,465,859 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hobus 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
139
1 in 2,465,859
Census rank
#141,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
121
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 121 bearers of the surname Hobus in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 141309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hobus, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hobus
The surname HOBUS is believed to have originated in Germany during the Middle Ages, likely in the 13th or 14th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old German word "hob," which means "hill" or "elevated land." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived on or near a hill.
The earliest known recorded instances of the HOBUS name can be found in various medieval German chronicles and documents. For example, there is a reference to a "Johannes Hobus" in a 1387 registry from the town of Mainz. Additionally, the name appears in a 1492 land deed from the village of Rothenburg, where a "Hans Hobus" is mentioned as a landowner.
In the 16th century, the HOBUS name began to spread beyond Germany, with some families migrating to neighboring regions like Austria and Switzerland. During this time, the spelling of the name also evolved, with variations like "Hobusch" and "Hobush" emerging in different locales.
One notable historical figure with the HOBUS surname was Johann Hobus (1547-1619), a German theologian and Protestant reformer who was a prominent figure in the early Lutheran church. Another was Christoph Hobus (1618-1677), a German composer and organist who served at various churches in Saxony and Brandenburg.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, some HOBUS families began to establish themselves in other parts of Europe, including the Netherlands and England. In 1692, a "Willem Hobus" is recorded as a merchant in Amsterdam, while a "Thomas Hobus" is listed as a landowner in the 1723 parish records of Gloucestershire, England.
As the HOBUS name continued to spread throughout Europe, it also found its way to the Americas, with some of the earliest recorded instances being in the British colonies of North America in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. One such example is Peter Hobus (1763-1841), a German-born farmer who settled in Pennsylvania in the 1780s.
Over the centuries, the HOBUS surname has been borne by a diverse array of individuals, from farmers and tradesmen to scholars and artists. While not a particularly common name, it has left its mark on the historical record across various regions and cultures, reflecting the migrations and experiences of those who carried it forward.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hobus
Among Census respondents with the surname Hobus, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Hobus 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 Hobus surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.9% · 110
- Two or more races4.1% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.3% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hobus
Hobus appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#141,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+16 bearers (+15.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 13,598 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #154,907 | 105 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #141,309 | 121 | 0.04 | +16 bearers (+15.2%) | Up 13,598 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 Hobus 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 | #154,907 | #141,309 | 8.8% |
| Count | 105 | 121 | 15.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 1.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hobus bearers went from 105 to 121 (+15.2% change). The surname moved up 13,598 positions in the national ranking, going from #154,907 to #141,309.
FAQ
Hobus surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hobus?
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the surname Hobus. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,465,859 residents.
How common is Hobus?
Hobus ranks #141,309 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 121 people with the surname Hobus. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (139), 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 Hobus.
Has Hobus become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hobus went from 105 recorded bearers to 121. That is an increase of 16 (+15.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #154,907 to #141,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Hobus?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hobus, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%). 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 Hobus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hobus appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.9%), Two or More Races (4.1%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%). 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 Hobus (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 Hobus mean?
An English surname derived from a Germanic personal name meaning "bright mind" or "intelligent". 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 Hobus (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 have the last name Hobus?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Hobus, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.