2000
#143,847
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Hockstra
A Dutch surname indicating origins from the town of Hockstra.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Hockstra. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hockstra 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
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Hockstra in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hockstra, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hockstra
The surname HOCKSTRA originated in the Netherlands during the late 16th century. It is derived from the Dutch words "hok" meaning a small room or enclosure, and "stra" meaning street or road. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a small alleyway or lane.
One of the earliest recorded instances of this surname can be found in the Dutch baptismal records from the city of Amsterdam in 1598, where a child named Pieter Hockstra was baptized. The surname also appears in records from the nearby town of Haarlem in the early 1600s.
During the 17th century, the HOCKSTRA name began to spread across the Netherlands, particularly in the provinces of North Holland and Friesland. Several variations of the spelling emerged, such as Hokstra, Hoxstra, and Hoxtra.
In the 1700s, the HOCKSTRA family gained prominence in the city of Leeuwarden, where Jan Hockstra (1685-1759) served as a respected merchant and city councilor. His son, Pieter Hockstra (1718-1792), was a renowned artist and painter who specialized in portraiture and landscape scenes.
Another notable figure with this surname was Willem Hockstra (1807-1879), a Dutch theologian and author who wrote extensively on religious topics and biblical interpretations. His works were widely read and influential in the Netherlands during the 19th century.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, several HOCKSTRA families emigrated from the Netherlands to other parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and South Africa. One such individual was Johannes Hockstra (1871-1945), who settled in the Dutch community of Pella, Iowa, and became a successful farmer and landowner.
Another prominent bearer of this surname was Gerrit Hockstra (1892-1968), a Dutch-born engineer who played a crucial role in the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California. His expertise in cable spinning techniques was instrumental in the bridge's completion.
Through the centuries, the HOCKSTRA surname has maintained its strong ties to its Dutch origins, with many families still residing in the Netherlands and carrying on the name's legacy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hockstra
Among Census respondents with the surname Hockstra, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Hockstra 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 Hockstra surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 109
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hockstra
Hockstra 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
#158,432
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
-4 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 14,585 places
2020
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
+7 bearers (+6.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 8,227 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #143,847 | 106 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #158,432 | 102 | 0.03 | -4 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 14,585 places |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+6.9%) | Up 8,227 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 Hockstra 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 | #158,432 | #150,205 | 5.2% |
| Count | 102 | 109 | 6.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 21.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hockstra bearers went from 102 to 109 (+6.9% change). The surname moved up 8,227 positions in the national ranking, going from #158,432 to #150,205.
FAQ
Hockstra surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hockstra?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Hockstra. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Hockstra?
Hockstra ranks #150,205 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 109 people with the surname Hockstra. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), 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 Hockstra.
Has Hockstra become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hockstra went from 102 recorded bearers to 109. That is an increase of 7 (+6.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #158,432 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Hockstra?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hockstra, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Hockstra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (109 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hockstra appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Hockstra (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 Hockstra mean?
A Dutch surname indicating origins from the town of Hockstra. 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 Hockstra (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 common is the surname Hockstra?
See how many people have the surname Hockstra on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.