2000
#12,292
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,320
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.86
Rare Last name
Hodgdon
An English habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "hill of a man called Hocca."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,631 Americans carry the last name Hodgdon. That puts it at #12,817 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.77 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 130,275 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hodgdon 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 Hodgdon with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.6K
1 in 130,275
Census rank
#12,817
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,294 bearers of the surname Hodgdon in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.77 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12817th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hodgdon, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hodgdon
The surname Hodgdon has its origins in England, with records dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "hod," meaning hood or cowl, and "dun," meaning hill or down. This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a hooded hill or a hill with a distinctive shape resembling a hood.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Hearth Tax Rolls of 1662, where a John Hodgdon is listed as a resident of Worcestershire. The Hodgdons were predominantly found in the West Midlands region of England, particularly in the counties of Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, and Herefordshire.
In the late 17th century, the Hodgdon surname made its way to the American colonies, with several immigrants bearing the name settling in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. One such early settler was William Hodgdon, who was born in England around 1640 and arrived in Kittery, Maine (then part of Massachusetts) in the 1670s.
The Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landholdings in England compiled in 1086, does not contain any direct references to the Hodgdon surname. However, it does mention several places that may have contributed to the name's development, such as Hoddington in Bedfordshire and Hoddesdon in Hertfordshire.
Among notable individuals with the Hodgdon surname throughout history are:
1. James Hodgdon (1744-1811), an American Revolutionary War soldier from New Hampshire.
2. Richard Hodgdon (1755-1829), an American militia officer and politician from Massachusetts.
3. Samuel Hodgdon (1794-1880), an American printer and publisher from Maine.
4. George Hodgdon (1822-1898), an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts.
5. Frederick Hodgdon (1858-1938), an American artist and illustrator known for his maritime paintings.
While the Hodgdon surname may not be as widespread as some others, it has a rich history rooted in the English countryside and has left its mark on both sides of the Atlantic through the contributions of its bearers over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hodgdon
Among Census respondents with the surname Hodgdon, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Hodgdon 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 Hodgdon surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.8% · 2,105
- Two or more races4.1% · 93
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 48
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 25
- Black or African American0.5% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hodgdon
Hodgdon 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
#12,760
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,418
+98 bearers (+4.2%)
Per 100,000 0.82
Rank movement Down 468 places
2020
#12,817
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,294
-124 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Down 57 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,292 | 2,320 | 0.86 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,760 | 2,418 | 0.82 | +98 bearers (+4.2%) | Down 468 places |
| 2020 | #12,817 | 2,294 | 0.77 | -124 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 57 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 Hodgdon 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 | #12,760 | #12,817 | -0.4% |
| Count | 2,418 | 2,294 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.82 | 0.77 | -6.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hodgdon bearers went from 2,418 to 2,294 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 57 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,760 to #12,817.
FAQ
Hodgdon surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hodgdon?
Name Census estimates that about 2,631 living Americans carry the surname Hodgdon. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 130,275 residents.
How common is Hodgdon?
Hodgdon ranks #12,817 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.77 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 2,294 people with the surname Hodgdon. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,631), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.77 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.77 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 Hodgdon.
Has Hodgdon become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hodgdon went from 2,418 recorded bearers to 2,294. That is a decrease of 124 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,760 to #12,817.
What does the Census say about the background of Hodgdon?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hodgdon, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (2.1%). 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 Hodgdon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.8% (2,105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hodgdon appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.8%), Two or More Races (4.1%), Hispanic (2.1%). 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 Hodgdon (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 Hodgdon mean?
An English habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "hill of a man called Hocca." 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 Hodgdon (0.77 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 are called Hodgdon?
If you just want to know how many people are called Hodgdon, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.