2000
#4,605
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,048
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.61
Rare Last name
Hoch
A German topographic surname referring to someone who lived on or near a hill or elevated place.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,443 Americans carry the last name Hoch. That puts it at #5,915 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 53,198 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hoch 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
6.4K
1 in 53,198
Census rank
#5,915
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,619 bearers of the surname Hoch in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5915th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoch, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hoch
The surname Hoch is of German origin and it is derived from the Old High German word "hoch" which means "high" or "tall". It is believed to have originated as a nickname or a descriptive name given to someone who was tall or lived in a high place.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Hoch date back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany. One of the earliest known bearers of this name was Konrad Hoch, who was mentioned in a document from the city of Cologne in 1272.
In the Middle Ages, the surname Hoch was also found in various forms such as Hoch, Hohe, Hocher, and Hochheim, indicating that it was derived from a place name associated with a high or elevated location.
The name Hoch has been recorded in various historical documents throughout the centuries, including tax records, guild rolls, and church registers. For example, Johannes Hoch was listed in the records of the city of Nuremberg in 1397.
Notable individuals who have carried the surname Hoch throughout history include:
1. Johann Hoch (1550-1623), a German composer and organist who served at the court of the Elector of Saxony.
2. Hans Hoch (1597-1668), a German painter and engraver known for his religious works and portraits.
3. Matthäus Hoch (1629-1677), a German Baroque sculptor and woodcarver who worked extensively in the Rhineland region.
4. Johann Philipp Hoch (1700-1768), a German architect and master builder who was active in the Palatinate region.
5. Johann Georg Hoch (1758-1838), a German educator and philologist who contributed to the study of Latin and Greek literature.
The surname Hoch has also been associated with various place names, such as Hochheim (a town in Germany), Hochstadt (meaning "high town"), and Hochdorf (meaning "high village"). These place names further reinforce the connection between the surname and the concept of elevation or height.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hoch
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoch, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Hoch 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 Hoch surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.0% · 5,225
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 200
- Two or more races1.9% · 109
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 34
- Black or African American0.6% · 33
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 18
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hoch
Hoch 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
#5,686
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,095
-953 bearers (-13.5%)
Per 100,000 2.07
Rank movement Down 1,081 places
2020
#5,915
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,619
-476 bearers (-7.8%)
Per 100,000 1.88
Rank movement Down 229 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,605 | 7,048 | 2.61 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,686 | 6,095 | 2.07 | -953 bearers (-13.5%) | Down 1,081 places |
| 2020 | #5,915 | 5,619 | 1.88 | -476 bearers (-7.8%) | Down 229 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 Hoch 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 | #5,686 | #5,915 | -4.0% |
| Count | 6,095 | 5,619 | -7.8% |
| Per 100K | 2.07 | 1.88 | -9.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hoch bearers went from 6,095 to 5,619 (-7.8% change). The surname moved down 229 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,686 to #5,915.
FAQ
Hoch surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hoch?
Name Census estimates that about 6,443 living Americans carry the surname Hoch. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 53,198 residents.
How common is Hoch?
Hoch ranks #5,915 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.88 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,619 people with the surname Hoch. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,443), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.88 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Hoch.
Has Hoch become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hoch went from 6,095 recorded bearers to 5,619. That is a decrease of 476 (-7.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,686 to #5,915.
What does the Census say about the background of Hoch?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoch, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Hoch in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (5,225 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hoch appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.0%), Hispanic (3.6%), Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Hoch (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 Hoch mean?
A German topographic surname referring to someone who lived on or near a hill or elevated place. 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 Hoch (1.88 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 Hoch?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.