2000
#6,585
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,745
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.76
Rare Last name
Hochstetler
A German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German words "hôch" (high) and "stetler" (settler or founder).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,496 Americans carry the last name Hochstetler. That puts it at #5,171 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.19 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 45,725 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hochstetler 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
7.5K
1 in 45,725
Census rank
#5,171
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,537 bearers of the surname Hochstetler in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.19 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5171st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hochstetler, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.3%) and Hispanic (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hochstetler
The surname Hochstetler originates from the German-speaking regions of Europe, specifically in the areas of present-day Germany and Switzerland. It can be traced back to the 16th century and is derived from the German word "Hochstatt," which means "high place" or "elevated town."
The earliest recorded instances of the name Hochstetler can be found in various historical documents and records from the 16th and 17th centuries in the regions of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria in Germany, as well as in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Variations of the spelling include Hochstetter, Hochstätter, and Hochstädter.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Hochstetler was Hans Hochstetler, born in 1548 in the town of Schaffhausen, Switzerland. He was a prominent merchant and landowner in the region. Another notable figure was Johann Hochstetler (1600-1672), a Protestant theologian and author from Württemberg, Germany.
In the 18th century, the Hochstetler family started to migrate to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas. Jacob Hochstetler (1705-1775) was an Amish pioneer who settled in Pennsylvania in the 1730s and became one of the first Amish leaders in the American colonies.
Other notable individuals with the surname Hochstetler include:
1. Daniel Hochstetler (1785-1867), an Amish bishop and leader in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
2. Christian Hochstetler (1811-1890), a German-American painter and artist known for his landscape paintings.
3. John Hochstetler (1832-1892), a Union Army soldier during the American Civil War and recipient of the Medal of Honor.
4. Jacob Hochstetler (1851-1924), a prominent Amish farmer and landowner in Holmes County, Ohio.
5. Anna Hochstetler (1878-1956), a Swiss-American educator and philanthropist who founded the Hochstetler School in Switzerland.
The surname Hochstetler is still prevalent in various regions of Germany, Switzerland, and the United States, particularly among Amish and Mennonite communities that originated from the early German and Swiss settlers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hochstetler
Among Census respondents with the surname Hochstetler, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.3%) and Hispanic (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Hochstetler 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 Hochstetler surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.9% · 6,333
- Two or more races1.3% · 86
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 67
- Black or African American0.3% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hochstetler
Hochstetler 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
#5,460
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,372
+1,627 bearers (+34.3%)
Per 100,000 2.16
Rank movement Up 1,125 places
2020
#5,171
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,537
+165 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 2.19
Rank movement Up 289 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,585 | 4,745 | 1.76 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,460 | 6,372 | 2.16 | +1,627 bearers (+34.3%) | Up 1,125 places |
| 2020 | #5,171 | 6,537 | 2.19 | +165 bearers (+2.6%) | Up 289 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 Hochstetler 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 | #5,460 | #5,171 | 5.3% |
| Count | 6,372 | 6,537 | 2.6% |
| Per 100K | 2.16 | 2.19 | 1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hochstetler bearers went from 6,372 to 6,537 (+2.6% change). The surname moved up 289 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,460 to #5,171.
FAQ
Hochstetler surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hochstetler?
Name Census estimates that about 7,496 living Americans carry the surname Hochstetler. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 45,725 residents.
How common is Hochstetler?
Hochstetler ranks #5,171 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.19 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 6,537 people with the surname Hochstetler. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,496), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.19 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.19 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 Hochstetler.
Has Hochstetler become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hochstetler went from 6,372 recorded bearers to 6,537. That is an increase of 165 (+2.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #5,460 to #5,171.
What does the Census say about the background of Hochstetler?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hochstetler, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.3%) and Hispanic (1.0%). 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 Hochstetler in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.9% (6,333 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hochstetler appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.9%), Two or More Races (1.3%), Hispanic (1.0%). 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 Hochstetler (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 Hochstetler mean?
A German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German words "hôch" (high) and "stetler" (settler or founder). 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 Hochstetler (2.19 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 common is the surname Hochstetler?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Hochstetler at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.