2000
#11,530
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,501
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.93
Rare Last name
Hodgkins
A surname of English origin referring to someone who lived near a small farming plot or pasture.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,730 Americans carry the last name Hodgkins. That puts it at #12,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.80 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 125,551 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hodgkins 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 Hodgkins with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.7K
1 in 125,551
Census rank
#12,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,381 bearers of the surname Hodgkins in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.80 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hodgkins, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hodgkins
The surname Hodgkins has its origins in England, tracing back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "hoc" meaning hook and "ing" meaning meadow or pasture, suggesting that the name may have referred to someone who lived near a hooked-shaped meadow or pasture.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Cambridgeshire from the year 1196, where it was spelled as "Hogekyn." This indicates that the name was present in the county of Cambridgeshire during the late 12th century.
The Hodgkins surname also appears in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from the year 1273, where it was recorded as "Hogekyn de Staunton." This entry suggests that there was a family or individual bearing the name living in Staunton, Oxfordshire, during the 13th century.
In the 14th century, the name is found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from the year 1327, where it was recorded as "Hogekyn." This demonstrates the presence of the surname in the county of Worcestershire during that time period.
One notable individual with the surname Hodgkins was John Hodgkins, a English clergyman who lived in the 16th century. He was born in Warwickshire around 1510 and served as the Rector of Merton College, Oxford, from 1559 until his death in 1578.
Another significant figure was Thomas Hodgkins, an English physician and pathologist who lived from 1798 to 1866. He is best known for describing and naming the disease now known as Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of cancer that affects the lymphatic system.
In the 17th century, the name appears in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Warwick, where a William Hodgkins was recorded as being baptized in 1632. This suggests that the surname was well-established in the town of Warwick during that period.
The 18th century saw the birth of Samuel Hodgkins, a British architect and surveyor who lived from 1749 to 1821. He was responsible for designing several notable buildings in London, including the West India Docks and the Regent's Canal.
In the 19th century, the surname is associated with George Hodgkins, a British artist and engraver who was born in 1808 and died in 1881. He was known for his landscape paintings and etchings, particularly those depicting scenes from the English countryside.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hodgkins
Among Census respondents with the surname Hodgkins, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Hodgkins 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 Hodgkins surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.6% · 2,204
- Two or more races3.0% · 72
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 66
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 19
- Black or African American0.6% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hodgkins
Hodgkins 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
#12,411
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,505
+4 bearers (+0.2%)
Per 100,000 0.85
Rank movement Down 881 places
2020
#12,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,381
-124 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 35 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,530 | 2,501 | 0.93 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,411 | 2,505 | 0.85 | +4 bearers (+0.2%) | Down 881 places |
| 2020 | #12,446 | 2,381 | 0.80 | -124 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 35 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 Hodgkins 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 | #12,411 | #12,446 | -0.3% |
| Count | 2,505 | 2,381 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.85 | 0.80 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hodgkins bearers went from 2,505 to 2,381 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 35 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,411 to #12,446.
FAQ
Hodgkins surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hodgkins?
Name Census estimates that about 2,730 living Americans carry the surname Hodgkins. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 125,551 residents.
How common is Hodgkins?
Hodgkins ranks #12,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.80 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 2,381 people with the surname Hodgkins. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,730), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.8 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.80 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 Hodgkins.
Has Hodgkins become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hodgkins went from 2,505 recorded bearers to 2,381. That is a decrease of 124 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,411 to #12,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Hodgkins?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hodgkins, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Hodgkins in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.6% (2,204 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hodgkins appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.6%), Two or More Races (3.0%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Hodgkins (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 Hodgkins mean?
A surname of English origin referring to someone who lived near a small farming plot or pasture. 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 Hodgkins (0.80 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 Hodgkins?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Hodgkins at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.