2000
#9,073
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,312
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.23
Rare Last name
Hoekstra
A Dutch toponymic surname indicating an origin near a corner or sharp bend in a road or dike.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,176 Americans carry the last name Hoekstra. That puts it at #8,649 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.22 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 82,077 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hoekstra 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
4.2K
1 in 82,077
Census rank
#8,649
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,642 bearers of the surname Hoekstra in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.22 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8649th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoekstra, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and Hispanic (1.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hoekstra
The surname Hoekstra originated in the Netherlands, primarily in the northern province of Friesland. It is believed to have emerged sometime in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. The name is derived from the Dutch word "hoek," meaning "corner" or "angle," and "stra," which is a shortened form of the word "straat," meaning "street." Thus, Hoekstra likely referred to someone who lived on a street corner or at an angled intersection.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Hoekstra can be found in the archives of the city of Leeuwarden, the capital of Friesland, where a certain Hobbe Hoekstra is mentioned in a document dated 1511. This suggests that the name was already in use by the early 16th century, if not earlier.
During the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century, the Hoekstra family played a notable role in the cultural and intellectual life of the Netherlands. Pieter Hoekstra (1628-1694), a prominent scholar and theologian, was born in Leeuwarden and served as a minister in several Dutch Reformed churches. His published works include commentaries on the Bible and treatises on theological topics.
Another noteworthy figure was Jelmer Hoekstra (1785-1856), a Frisian poet and playwright who wrote in both Dutch and the Frisian language. His plays and poetry celebrated Frisian culture and identity, and he is considered one of the most important writers in the Frisian literary tradition.
In the 19th century, Dyk Hoekstra (1820-1898) was a renowned architect who designed numerous buildings in the Neo-Renaissance and Neo-Gothic styles. Some of his most famous works include the Westerkerk in Amsterdam and the Paleis voor Volksvlijt, a grand exhibition hall that once stood in the same city.
More recently, the name Hoekstra has been carried by individuals such as Jelle Hoekstra (1915-1996), a Dutch resistance fighter during World War II who was awarded the prestigious Resistance Memorial Cross for his bravery and sacrifices in the fight against Nazi occupation.
Despite its Dutch origins, the Hoekstra surname has spread beyond the Netherlands over time, with individuals bearing this name found in various parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and other countries with historical Dutch connections or immigration.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hoekstra
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoekstra, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and Hispanic (1.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Hoekstra 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 Hoekstra surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.3% · 3,434
- Two or more races2.4% · 89
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 58
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 17
- Black or African American0.4% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hoekstra
Hoekstra 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
#9,203
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,544
+232 bearers (+7.0%)
Per 100,000 1.20
Rank movement Down 130 places
2020
#8,649
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,642
+98 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 1.22
Rank movement Up 554 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,073 | 3,312 | 1.23 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,203 | 3,544 | 1.20 | +232 bearers (+7.0%) | Down 130 places |
| 2020 | #8,649 | 3,642 | 1.22 | +98 bearers (+2.8%) | Up 554 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 Hoekstra 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 | #9,203 | #8,649 | 6.0% |
| Count | 3,544 | 3,642 | 2.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.20 | 1.22 | 1.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hoekstra bearers went from 3,544 to 3,642 (+2.8% change). The surname moved up 554 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,203 to #8,649.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hoekstra
FAQ
Hoekstra surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hoekstra?
Name Census estimates that about 4,176 living Americans carry the surname Hoekstra. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 82,077 residents.
How common is Hoekstra?
Hoekstra ranks #8,649 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.22 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 3,642 people with the surname Hoekstra. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,176), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.22 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.22 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 Hoekstra.
Has Hoekstra become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hoekstra went from 3,544 recorded bearers to 3,642. That is an increase of 98 (+2.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,203 to #8,649.
What does the Census say about the background of Hoekstra?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoekstra, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.4%) and Hispanic (1.6%). 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 Hoekstra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.3% (3,434 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hoekstra appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.3%), Two or More Races (2.4%), Hispanic (1.6%). 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 Hoekstra (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 Hoekstra mean?
A Dutch toponymic surname indicating an origin near a corner or sharp bend in a road or dike. 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 Hoekstra (1.22 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 Hoekstra?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Hoekstra at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.