2000
#130,443
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Hofstatter
A locational German surname derived from words meaning "inn" or "farm".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 139 Americans carry the last name Hofstatter. That puts it at #141,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,465,859 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hofstatter 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
139
1 in 2,465,859
Census rank
#141,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
121
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 121 bearers of the surname Hofstatter in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 141309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hofstatter, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.6%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hofstatter
The surname Hofstatter originates from Germany, where it emerged during the Middle Ages, likely in the 13th or 14th century. It is a locational surname derived from the German words "hof" meaning "courtyard" or "farmyard" and "statt" meaning "place" or "location." Thus, Hofstatter originally referred to someone who lived or worked at a farm, manor, or courtyard.
One of the earliest known mentions of the name Hofstatter can be found in the records of the town of Augsburg in Bavaria, dating back to the late 15th century. The name is also documented in various medieval manuscripts and church records from regions such as Franconia and Swabia.
In the 16th century, the surname Hofstatter appeared in the town of Nuremberg, where a notable bearer was Hans Hofstatter, a prominent merchant and city councilor who lived from around 1510 to 1580. Another early bearer of the name was Balthasar Hofstatter, a Catholic priest and theologian from Ingolstadt, who lived from 1572 to 1638.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Hofstatter name spread to other parts of Germany, as well as to neighboring countries like Austria and Switzerland. One notable figure from this period was Johann Christoph Hofstatter, a German composer and organist who lived from 1670 to 1717 and worked in various cities, including Augsburg and Nuremberg.
In the 19th century, a prominent Hofstatter was Carl Hofstatter, a German-American artist and lithographer born in 1824 in Nuremberg. He immigrated to the United States in the 1840s and became known for his landscape paintings and illustrations of the American West.
Another notable bearer of the name was Karl Hofstatter, an Austrian architect and urban planner who lived from 1873 to 1953. He was instrumental in the development of Vienna's modern urban landscape and designed several iconic buildings in the city.
While the Hofstatter surname is still found in various parts of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland today, it also spread to other countries through emigration, particularly in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hofstatter
Among Census respondents with the surname Hofstatter, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.6%) and Two or More Races (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Hofstatter 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 Hofstatter surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.9% · 110
- Hispanic or Latino6.6% · 8
- Two or more races1.7% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hofstatter
Hofstatter 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
#127,494
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 134
+14 bearers (+11.7%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 2,949 places
2020
#141,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
-13 bearers (-9.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,815 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #130,443 | 120 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #127,494 | 134 | 0.05 | +14 bearers (+11.7%) | Up 2,949 places |
| 2020 | #141,309 | 121 | 0.04 | -13 bearers (-9.7%) | Down 13,815 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 Hofstatter 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 | #127,494 | #141,309 | -10.8% |
| Count | 134 | 121 | -9.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -19.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hofstatter bearers went from 134 to 121 (-9.7% change). The surname moved down 13,815 positions in the national ranking, going from #127,494 to #141,309.
FAQ
Hofstatter surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hofstatter?
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the surname Hofstatter. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,465,859 residents.
How common is Hofstatter?
Hofstatter ranks #141,309 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 121 people with the surname Hofstatter. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (139), 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 Hofstatter.
Has Hofstatter become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hofstatter went from 134 recorded bearers to 121. That is a decrease of 13 (-9.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #127,494 to #141,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Hofstatter?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hofstatter, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.6%) and Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Hofstatter in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hofstatter appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.9%), Hispanic (6.6%), Two or More Races (1.7%). 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 Hofstatter (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 Hofstatter mean?
A locational German surname derived from words meaning "inn" or "farm". 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 Hofstatter (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 Hofstatter?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.