Hoffmeister last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Hoffmeister is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Hoffmeister.

Meaning of Hoffmeister

A German occupational surname meaning "court master" or supervisor of a noble household.

Hoffmeister, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Hoffmeister surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hoffmeister in America

Hoffmeister is the 19027th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hoffmeister surname appeared 1,431 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Hoffmeister.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hoffmeister to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 19027 18298 3.91%
Count 1,431 1,398 2.33%
Proportion per 100k 0.49 0.52 -5.94%

The history of the last name Hoffmeister

The surname Hoffmeister is of German origin, originating in the late Middle Ages. It is derived from the German words "Hof," meaning "court" or "farm," and "Meister," meaning "master" or "overseer." The name likely referred to someone who was in charge of a court or farm, such as a steward or bailiff.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in various German regions, including Bavaria, Saxony, and Thuringia. In the 15th century, the name appeared in records from the city of Nuremberg, where a certain Hans Hoffmeister was mentioned as a citizen in 1458.

One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname was Johann Hoffmeister, a German composer and music theorist who lived from 1766 to 1846. He was born in Rothenburg ob der Tauber and was known for his contributions to music education and theory.

Another prominent figure was Friedrich Hoffmeister, a German publisher and composer who lived from 1782 to 1864. He established a successful music publishing company in Leipzig and played a significant role in disseminating the works of notable composers such as Beethoven and Mozart.

In the 19th century, Wilhelm Hoffmeister, a German architect, left his mark on the city of Berlin with his design for the Neuer Pavillon, a prominent building in the Tiergarten park, completed in 1824.

Moving into the 20th century, Otto Hoffmeister was a German military officer who served in World War I and later became a prominent figure in the Nazi Party. He was born in 1886 and died in 1957.

Finally, one cannot overlook the contributions of Kurt Hoffmeister, a German mathematician and computer scientist who lived from 1936 to 2004. He made significant contributions to the field of theoretical computer science and was renowned for his work on formal languages and automata theory.

These examples illustrate the diverse backgrounds and accomplishments of individuals who have carried the surname Hoffmeister throughout history, reflecting its deep roots in German culture and society.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hoffmeister

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Hoffmeister.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Hoffmeister was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 95.74% 1,370
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.84% 12
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.54% 22
Hispanic Origin 0.91% 13

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Hoffmeister has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 95.74% 98.21% -2.55%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.84% 0.43% 64.57%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 1.54% 0.50% 101.96%
Hispanic 0.91% 0.64% 34.84%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Hoffmeister was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Hoffmeister, please contact us.

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"Hoffmeister last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on July 16, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/hoffmeister-surname-popularity/.

"Hoffmeister last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/hoffmeister-surname-popularity/. Accessed 16 July, 2025

Hoffmeister last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/hoffmeister-surname-popularity/.

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