2000
#13,885
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,995
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.74
Rare Last name
Hoerner
A German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word "hornære," meaning hornmaker or horn-blower.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,174 Americans carry the last name Hoerner. That puts it at #14,966 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 157,661 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hoerner 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
2.2K
1 in 157,661
Census rank
#14,966
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,896 bearers of the surname Hoerner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14966th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoerner, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hoerner
The surname Hoerner has its origins in Germany, tracing back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the German word "Horn," which refers to a horn or trumpet, suggesting that the name was originally an occupational surname for a horn or trumpet maker or player.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hoerner can be found in the town records of Nuremberg, Bavaria, in the 14th century. The name appeared as "Hornere," which was a common spelling variation during that time period.
In the 15th century, the name Hoerner was also documented in the chronicles of the city of Augsburg, where a family of Hoerners was mentioned as respected artisans and musicians.
During the 16th century, the Hoerner name gained prominence in various regions of Germany. One notable figure was Johann Hoerner (1501-1567), a Lutheran theologian and reformer from Saxony, who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation.
The surname Hoerner can also be traced to certain place names in Germany, such as Hornerkirchen, a village in Lower Saxony, which was once known as "Hornere Kerken" in old Low German dialects.
Another prominent individual with the Hoerner surname was Karl Hoerner (1823-1897), a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Berlin and other cities across Germany.
In the 19th century, the name Hoerner spread beyond Germany as a result of emigration. For instance, August Hoerner (1852-1921), a German-American entrepreneur, founded the Hoerner Leather Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which became a successful business in the leather industry.
Other notable individuals with the Hoerner surname include Friedrich Hoerner (1899-1975), a German-American aerospace engineer who made significant contributions to the field of aerodynamics, and Sigfried Hoerner (1909-1994), a German-American fluid dynamicist and author of several influential books on aerodynamics and aeronautics.
Through the centuries, the Hoerner surname has maintained its roots in Germany, while also gaining recognition in various parts of the world due to migration and notable achievements by individuals bearing this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hoerner
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoerner, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Hoerner 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 Hoerner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.2% · 1,768
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 61
- Two or more races2.8% · 54
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hoerner
Hoerner 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
#14,434
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,070
+75 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Down 549 places
2020
#14,966
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,896
-174 bearers (-8.4%)
Per 100,000 0.63
Rank movement Down 532 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,885 | 1,995 | 0.74 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,434 | 2,070 | 0.70 | +75 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 549 places |
| 2020 | #14,966 | 1,896 | 0.63 | -174 bearers (-8.4%) | Down 532 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 Hoerner 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 | #14,434 | #14,966 | -3.7% |
| Count | 2,070 | 1,896 | -8.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.70 | 0.63 | -9.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hoerner bearers went from 2,070 to 1,896 (-8.4% change). The surname moved down 532 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,434 to #14,966.
FAQ
Hoerner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hoerner?
Name Census estimates that about 2,174 living Americans carry the surname Hoerner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 157,661 residents.
How common is Hoerner?
Hoerner ranks #14,966 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.63 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 1,896 people with the surname Hoerner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,174), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.63 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.63 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 Hoerner.
Has Hoerner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hoerner went from 2,070 recorded bearers to 1,896. That is a decrease of 174 (-8.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,434 to #14,966.
What does the Census say about the background of Hoerner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoerner, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (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 Hoerner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (1,768 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hoerner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.2%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (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 Hoerner (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 Hoerner mean?
A German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word "hornære," meaning hornmaker or horn-blower. 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 Hoerner (0.63 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 Hoerner?
Find out how common the surname Hoerner is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.