2000
#1,893
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,408
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.45
Uncommon Last name
Hoff
Derived from a German place name or topographic name referring to a courtyard or farmyard.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 18,937 Americans carry the last name Hoff. That puts it at #2,135 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.52 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 18,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hoff 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 Hoff with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
19K
1 in 18,100
Census rank
#2,135
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
17K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 16,514 bearers of the surname Hoff in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.52 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2135th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hoff
The surname HOFF originated in Germany and has its roots dating back to the medieval period. It was derived from the Old High German word "hof," which meant a courtyard or a small village. This name was typically given to those who lived in or near a courtyard or small hamlet.
During the Middle Ages, the HOFF surname was concentrated in various regions of Germany, particularly in the areas around the Rhine River. It is believed that some of the earliest instances of this name can be found in historical records from the 12th and 13th centuries.
One notable historical reference to the HOFF surname can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of medieval documents from the former Kingdom of Saxony, which includes entries from as early as the 11th century.
The earliest recorded individual with the HOFF surname is believed to be Johannes Hoff, a landholder in the region of Saxony, who lived during the late 13th century. Another early example is Konrad Hoff, a merchant from the town of Cologne, who is mentioned in a document dated 1347.
Over the centuries, the HOFF surname has been associated with various place names and older spellings, such as Hoffstadt, Hoffheim, and Hoffen. Additionally, there have been several notable individuals bearing this name throughout history.
One such individual was Johann Hoff (1549-1612), a German theologian and pastor who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation. Another notable figure was Hans Hoff (1730-1792), a Swiss mathematician and astronomer who made important contributions to the field of celestial mechanics.
In the 19th century, Karl Ernst Adolf von Hoff (1771-1837) was a Prussian general who served in the Napoleonic Wars, while Wilhelm Hoff (1820-1892) was a German chemist known for his work on the structure of benzene.
Perhaps one of the most famous individuals with the HOFF surname was the American actor David Hasselhoff (born 1952), whose surname is a variation of Hoff, and who gained international fame for his roles in popular television series like "Knight Rider" and "Baywatch."
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hoff
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Hoff 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 Hoff surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.7% · 14,980
- Two or more races3.1% · 506
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 437
- Black or African American2.2% · 366
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 162
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 63
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hoff
Hoff 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
#2,103
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,223
-185 bearers (-1.1%)
Per 100,000 5.84
Rank movement Down 210 places
2020
#2,135
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,514
-709 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 5.52
Rank movement Down 32 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,893 | 17,408 | 6.45 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,103 | 17,223 | 5.84 | -185 bearers (-1.1%) | Down 210 places |
| 2020 | #2,135 | 16,514 | 5.52 | -709 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 32 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 Hoff 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 | #2,103 | #2,135 | -1.5% |
| Count | 17,223 | 16,514 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 5.84 | 5.52 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hoff bearers went from 17,223 to 16,514 (-4.1% change). The surname moved down 32 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,103 to #2,135.
FAQ
Hoff surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hoff?
Name Census estimates that about 18,937 living Americans carry the surname Hoff. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 18,100 residents.
How common is Hoff?
Hoff ranks #2,135 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.52 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 16,514 people with the surname Hoff. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (18,937), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.52 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.52 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Hoff.
Has Hoff become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hoff went from 17,223 recorded bearers to 16,514. That is a decrease of 709 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,103 to #2,135.
What does the Census say about the background of Hoff?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoff, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Hoff in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.7% (14,980 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hoff appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.7%), Two or More Races (3.1%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Hoff (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 Hoff mean?
Derived from a German place name or topographic name referring to a courtyard or farmyard. 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 Hoff (5.52 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 Hoff?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Hoff, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.