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

Hofstadter, 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 Hofstadter surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hofstadter in America

Hofstadter is the 117480th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hofstadter surname appeared 148 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 Hofstadter.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hofstadter 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.

The history of the last name Hofstadter

The surname Hofstadter has its origins in Germany, where it first emerged in the 16th century. It is derived from the Middle High German words "hof," meaning "court" or "estate," and "stadter," which translates to "resident" or "dweller." Thus, the name Hofstadter would have referred to someone who lived or worked on an estate or manor.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the town records of Weikersheim, in the present-day state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In 1587, a certain Hans Hofstadter is mentioned as a resident of the town. This suggests that the name was already in use by the late 16th century.

The Hofstadter surname is also linked to several place names in Germany, such as Hofstatt and Hofstetten, which further reinforces its connection to estates or manors. It is possible that some early bearers of the name took their surname from these place names.

In the 17th century, a notable figure with the Hofstadter surname was Johann Hofstadter (1621-1696), a German jurist and legal scholar who served as a professor at the University of Tübingen. His work on Roman law and legal theory was widely influential during his time.

Another important figure was Johann Christoph Hofstadter (1683-1756), a German composer and organist who served as the Kapellmeister (music director) at the court of Württemberg. His compositions, particularly his church music, were highly regarded in the Baroque era.

In the 19th century, a prominent Hofstadter was Theodor Hofstadter (1826-1901), a German architect who designed several notable buildings in Stuttgart, including the Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof (main railway station) and the Liederhalle concert hall.

Across the Atlantic, one of the earliest Hofstadters in America was Johann Georg Hofstadter (1768-1834), who immigrated from Germany to Pennsylvania in the late 18th century. He and his descendants played a role in the early settlement and development of the German-American community in that region.

Another notable American Hofstadter was the philosopher and cognitive scientist Douglas Hofstadter (born 1945), best known for his influential work "Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid," which won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1980.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hofstadter

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

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 Hofstadter was:

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 Hofstadter has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

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 Hofstadter was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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