2000
#7,980
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,844
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.42
Rare Last name
Hockenberry
An occupational surname for someone who lived near or worked with hills or mounds, likely derived from German.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,376 Americans carry the last name Hockenberry. That puts it at #8,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.28 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 78,326 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hockenberry 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
4.4K
1 in 78,326
Census rank
#8,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,816 bearers of the surname Hockenberry in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.28 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hockenberry, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (1.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hockenberry
The surname Hockenberry is believed to have originated in Germany, likely in the late medieval period or early modern era. It is thought to be derived from the German place name "Hockenheim" or a similar location, with the addition of the suffix "-berry" denoting someone from that area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the 1683 baptismal records of Darmstadt, Germany, where a Johann Hockenberry is mentioned. This suggests that the name may have been in use as early as the 17th century in certain regions of what is now southwestern Germany.
In the 18th century, the surname appears to have spread beyond its initial geographic origins. Johann Peter Hockenberry, born in 1723 in the Palatinate region of Germany, is recorded as having immigrated to Pennsylvania in the American colonies in the 1740s, indicating the name's presence in the early German-American immigrant community.
Among notable historical figures bearing the Hockenberry surname is William B. Hockenberry, a Union soldier during the American Civil War who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Antietam in 1862. Another is John H. Hockenberry, born in 1856 in Ohio, who served as a U.S. Congressman from 1905 to 1911.
In the literary world, author and journalist John Hockenberry, born in 1956, is a prominent figure known for his work as a correspondent for NBC News and as the host of several public radio programs. His memoir, "Moving Violations: War Zones, Wheelchairs, and Declarations of Independence," published in 1995, chronicles his experiences as a disabled journalist.
The name Hockenberry has also been associated with various place names in the United States, such as Hockenberry Road in Pennsylvania and Hockenberry Lane in Indiana, reflecting the spread and settlement of families with this surname across different regions of the country.
While not as common as some other German-derived surnames, Hockenberry has left its mark on historical records and continues to be a recognizable name in various fields, particularly in the United States where many early German immigrants settled.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hockenberry
Among Census respondents with the surname Hockenberry, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (1.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Hockenberry 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 Hockenberry surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.5% · 3,608
- Two or more races3.0% · 113
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 55
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 16
- Black or African American0.3% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hockenberry
Hockenberry 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
#8,114
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,086
+242 bearers (+6.3%)
Per 100,000 1.39
Rank movement Down 134 places
2020
#8,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,816
-270 bearers (-6.6%)
Per 100,000 1.28
Rank movement Down 195 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,980 | 3,844 | 1.42 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,114 | 4,086 | 1.39 | +242 bearers (+6.3%) | Down 134 places |
| 2020 | #8,309 | 3,816 | 1.28 | -270 bearers (-6.6%) | Down 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 Hockenberry 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 | #8,114 | #8,309 | -2.4% |
| Count | 4,086 | 3,816 | -6.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.39 | 1.28 | -8.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hockenberry bearers went from 4,086 to 3,816 (-6.6% change). The surname moved down 195 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,114 to #8,309.
FAQ
Hockenberry surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hockenberry?
Name Census estimates that about 4,376 living Americans carry the surname Hockenberry. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 78,326 residents.
How common is Hockenberry?
Hockenberry ranks #8,309 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.28 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 3,816 people with the surname Hockenberry. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,376), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.28 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.28 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 Hockenberry.
Has Hockenberry become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hockenberry went from 4,086 recorded bearers to 3,816. That is a decrease of 270 (-6.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,114 to #8,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Hockenberry?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hockenberry, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (1.4%). 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 Hockenberry in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.5% (3,608 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hockenberry appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.5%), Two or More Races (3.0%), Hispanic (1.4%). 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 Hockenberry (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 Hockenberry mean?
An occupational surname for someone who lived near or worked with hills or mounds, likely derived from German. 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 Hockenberry (1.28 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 Hockenberry?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.