2010
#152,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Hoffelt
A habitational surname derived from a location, likely referring to a farmstead or village.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Hoffelt. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hoffelt 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Hoffelt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoffelt, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hoffelt
The surname Hoffelt is believed to have originated in Germany, likely in the late 16th or early 17th century. It is thought to be derived from the German word "Hof," meaning a courtyard or a farm, and the suffix "-felt," which could indicate a person who lived or worked on a farm or courtyard.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hoffelt can be found in the church records of Saxony, Germany, dating back to the mid-17th century. These records mention a family by the name of Hoffelt residing in a small village near Leipzig.
In the 18th century, the name Hoffelt began to appear in various documents and records across different regions of Germany, suggesting that the family had spread to other areas. For example, there are records of a Johann Hoffelt, born in 1712, who was a respected blacksmith in a town near Cologne.
The name Hoffelt has also been associated with several notable figures throughout history. One such individual was Friedrich Hoffelt, a German poet and philosopher born in 1786 in Weimar. He was known for his works exploring themes of nature and the human condition.
Another notable individual with the surname Hoffelt was Gertrude Hoffelt, born in 1825 in Berlin. She was a pioneering educator and advocate for women's rights, establishing several schools for girls in the mid-19th century.
In the late 19th century, the Hoffelt family began to migrate to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia. One notable example is Wilhelm Hoffelt, born in 1871 in Hamburg, who later became a successful businessman and philanthropist in New York City after immigrating to the United States in the 1890s.
While the surname Hoffelt may have evolved and taken on different spellings or variations in different regions over time, its origins can be traced back to the German countryside, where it likely emerged as a descriptive name for those associated with farming or courtyard-related occupations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hoffelt
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoffelt, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Hoffelt 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 Hoffelt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.1% · 115
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hoffelt
Hoffelt appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+9 bearers (+8.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 7,600 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #152,628 | 107 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+8.4%) | Up 7,600 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 Hoffelt 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 | #152,628 | #145,028 | 5.0% |
| Count | 107 | 116 | 8.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hoffelt bearers went from 107 to 116 (+8.4% change). The surname moved up 7,600 positions in the national ranking, going from #152,628 to #145,028.
FAQ
Hoffelt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hoffelt?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Hoffelt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Hoffelt?
Hoffelt ranks #145,028 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 116 people with the surname Hoffelt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Hoffelt.
Has Hoffelt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hoffelt went from 107 recorded bearers to 116. That is an increase of 9 (+8.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #152,628 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Hoffelt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoffelt, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Hoffelt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.1% (115 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hoffelt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.1%), Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Hoffelt (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 Hoffelt mean?
A habitational surname derived from a location, likely referring to a farmstead or village. 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 Hoffelt (0.04 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 share the surname Hoffelt?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.