2000
#12,773
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,217
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.82
Rare Last name
Hockaday
Derived from a place name meaning "hockey field" or "hockey pasture" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,488 Americans carry the last name Hockaday. That puts it at #13,411 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 137,763 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hockaday 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 Hockaday with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.5K
1 in 137,763
Census rank
#13,411
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,170 bearers of the surname Hockaday in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13411th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hockaday, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.0%. The next largest groups are Black (32.2%) and Hispanic (5.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hockaday
The surname Hockaday has its origins in England, particularly in the northern counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire, where it first appeared in records dating back to the 13th century. The name is believed to be derived from the Old English words "hocca" and "dæg," which together mean "high day" or "holiday."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379, which lists a "Willelmus Hokedaye." This spelling variation suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a particular hill or high ground, or perhaps someone who was associated with a specific holiday or celebration.
In the 16th century, the Hockaday surname appeared in various parish records and manorial documents across northern England. Notable examples include a John Hockaday, who was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, around 1550, and a William Hockaday, born in Lancashire in 1588.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the surname spread to other parts of England and began appearing in historical records beyond the northern regions. One significant figure was Sir John Hockaday (1668-1737), a wealthy merchant and landowner from Gloucestershire, who served as High Sheriff of the county in 1714.
Another notable Hockaday was Robert Hockaday (1725-1808), an English clergyman and author who served as a curate in Bedfordshire and published several religious works, including "The Book of Common Prayer Explained" in 1787.
As the name spread, it also took on various spellings, such as Hokaday, Hokyday, and Hockiday, reflecting the regional dialects and variations in pronunciation. Some of these alternative spellings can be found in historical documents, such as the marriage record of a Thomas Hokaday in Derbyshire in 1692.
In the 19th century, the Hockaday surname became more widely dispersed across the British Isles and beyond, as members of the family emigrated to other parts of the world. One example is James Hockaday (1811-1890), a successful businessman and politician who emigrated from England to New Zealand in the 1840s and served as a Member of Parliament in the country's House of Representatives.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hockaday
Among Census respondents with the surname Hockaday, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.0%. The next largest groups are Black (32.2%) and Hispanic (5.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Hockaday 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 Hockaday surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.0% · 1,236
- Black or African American32.2% · 699
- Hispanic or Latino5.6% · 121
- Two or more races4.3% · 93
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hockaday
Hockaday 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
#13,177
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,320
+103 bearers (+4.6%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Down 404 places
2020
#13,411
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,170
-150 bearers (-6.5%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Down 234 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,773 | 2,217 | 0.82 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,177 | 2,320 | 0.79 | +103 bearers (+4.6%) | Down 404 places |
| 2020 | #13,411 | 2,170 | 0.73 | -150 bearers (-6.5%) | Down 234 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 Hockaday 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 | #13,177 | #13,411 | -1.8% |
| Count | 2,320 | 2,170 | -6.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.79 | 0.73 | -8.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hockaday bearers went from 2,320 to 2,170 (-6.5% change). The surname moved down 234 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,177 to #13,411.
FAQ
Hockaday surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hockaday?
Name Census estimates that about 2,488 living Americans carry the surname Hockaday. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 137,763 residents.
How common is Hockaday?
Hockaday ranks #13,411 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.73 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 2,170 people with the surname Hockaday. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,488), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.73 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 Hockaday.
Has Hockaday become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hockaday went from 2,320 recorded bearers to 2,170. That is a decrease of 150 (-6.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,177 to #13,411.
What does the Census say about the background of Hockaday?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hockaday, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.0%. The next largest groups are Black (32.2%) and Hispanic (5.6%). 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 Hockaday in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.0% (1,236 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hockaday appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (57.0%), Black (32.2%), Hispanic (5.6%). 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 Hockaday (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 Hockaday mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "hockey field" or "hockey pasture" in Old English. 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 Hockaday (0.73 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 surname Hockaday?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.