2000
#12,389
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,299
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.85
Rare Last name
Hofmeister
A German occupational surname referring to a steward or manager of a nobleman's estate or court.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,596 Americans carry the last name Hofmeister. That puts it at #12,967 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 132,032 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hofmeister 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
2.6K
1 in 132,032
Census rank
#12,967
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,264 bearers of the surname Hofmeister in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12967th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hofmeister, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hofmeister
The surname Hofmeister originated in Germany, with its earliest known records dating back to the late Middle Ages. It is derived from the German words "hof," meaning "court" or "farm," and "meister," meaning "master" or "overseer." This suggests that the name was initially given to someone who was in charge of a court or a large agricultural estate.
One of the earliest mentions of the Hofmeister name can be found in the historical records of the city of Nuremberg, where a certain Konrad Hofmeister is listed as a prominent citizen in the 14th century. The name also appears in several medieval manuscripts from various German regions, indicating its widespread use during that period.
In the 16th century, a prominent figure named Johann Hofmeister (1491-1559) was a Lutheran theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation. He served as a court preacher in Saxony and was known for his influential writings on theology and church governance.
Another notable bearer of the Hofmeister surname was Friedrich Hofmeister (1782-1864), a German botanist and naturalist. He made important contributions to the study of plant morphology and is credited with developing the concept of alternation of generations in plant life cycles.
In the 19th century, Wilhelm Hofmeister (1824-1877) was a German legal scholar and politician who served as the Minister of Justice for the Kingdom of Prussia. He played a crucial role in the legal reforms and the unification of German law during the period of the German Empire.
The Hofmeister name has also been associated with various place names in Germany, such as Hofmeisterhaus, a historical building in the town of Quedlinburg, and Hofmeisterei, a former administrative district in the region of Saxony-Anhalt.
While the Hofmeister surname can be found in various parts of Germany, it is particularly prevalent in the regions of Bavaria, Saxony, and Thuringia, where many families with this name have lived for generations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hofmeister
Among Census respondents with the surname Hofmeister, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Hofmeister 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 Hofmeister surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.5% · 2,095
- Two or more races3.3% · 75
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 68
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 16
- Black or African American0.4% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hofmeister
Hofmeister 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
#12,861
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,394
+95 bearers (+4.1%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Down 472 places
2020
#12,967
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,264
-130 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Down 106 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,389 | 2,299 | 0.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,861 | 2,394 | 0.81 | +95 bearers (+4.1%) | Down 472 places |
| 2020 | #12,967 | 2,264 | 0.76 | -130 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 106 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 Hofmeister 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 | #12,861 | #12,967 | -0.8% |
| Count | 2,394 | 2,264 | -5.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.81 | 0.76 | -6.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hofmeister bearers went from 2,394 to 2,264 (-5.4% change). The surname moved down 106 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,861 to #12,967.
FAQ
Hofmeister surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hofmeister?
Name Census estimates that about 2,596 living Americans carry the surname Hofmeister. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 132,032 residents.
How common is Hofmeister?
Hofmeister ranks #12,967 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.76 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 2,264 people with the surname Hofmeister. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,596), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.76 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 Hofmeister.
Has Hofmeister become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hofmeister went from 2,394 recorded bearers to 2,264. That is a decrease of 130 (-5.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,861 to #12,967.
What does the Census say about the background of Hofmeister?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hofmeister, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.3%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Hofmeister in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (2,095 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hofmeister appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.5%), Two or More Races (3.3%), Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Hofmeister (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 Hofmeister mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a steward or manager of a nobleman's estate or court. 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 Hofmeister (0.76 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 Americans have the surname Hofmeister?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.