2000
#134,037
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Hofstrand
A Swedish place name referring to a court or farm near a beach or shore.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 144 Americans carry the last name Hofstrand. That puts it at #137,553 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,380,238 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hofstrand 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
144
1 in 2,380,238
Census rank
#137,553
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
126
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 126 bearers of the surname Hofstrand in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 137553rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hofstrand, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hofstrand
The surname HOFSTRAND has its origins in the Netherlands, dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the Dutch words "hof" meaning "court" or "estate" and "strand" meaning "beach" or "shore." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived or worked on an estate near a body of water.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the records of the Dutch Reformed Church in Amsterdam, where a Gerrit Hofstrand was mentioned in 1589. Another early reference comes from the city of Leiden, where a Jan Hofstrand was recorded as a resident in 1621.
In the 17th century, the name began to appear in other parts of the Netherlands, as well as in areas with significant Dutch influence, such as parts of present-day Indonesia and South Africa. An example is the Dutch East Indies, where a Pieter Hofstrand was listed as a merchant in Batavia (now Jakarta) in 1673.
As the Dutch began to establish colonies in the New World, the name traveled with them. One notable bearer was Dirk Hofstrand, who was born in Amsterdam in 1652 and later settled in New Amsterdam (now New York) in 1675. He became a successful trader and landowner, and his descendants can be traced through various records in the region.
Another prominent figure was Johannes Hofstrand, a Dutch military officer who served in the Dutch East Indies during the late 18th century. He was born in Delft in 1746 and rose through the ranks to become a captain in the Dutch East Indies Army, playing a role in several conflicts against local rulers.
Moving into the 19th century, the name can be found in various parts of Europe and beyond. Hans Hofstrand, a German-born painter and illustrator, was active in the late 1800s and is known for his landscapes and portraiture. He was born in Dresden in 1853 and died in Munich in 1920.
In the Netherlands itself, the name continued to be associated with various professions and social classes. Willem Hofstrand, born in Rotterdam in 1818, was a successful merchant and shipowner, while Adriaan Hofstrand, born in Haarlem in 1875, was a respected academic and linguist who taught at the University of Amsterdam.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hofstrand
Among Census respondents with the surname Hofstrand, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Hofstrand 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 Hofstrand surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.2% · 125
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hofstrand
Hofstrand 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
#128,249
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 133
+17 bearers (+14.7%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 5,788 places
2020
#137,553
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 126
-7 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 9,304 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,037 | 116 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #128,249 | 133 | 0.05 | +17 bearers (+14.7%) | Up 5,788 places |
| 2020 | #137,553 | 126 | 0.04 | -7 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 9,304 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 Hofstrand 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 | #128,249 | #137,553 | -7.3% |
| Count | 133 | 126 | -5.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -15.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hofstrand bearers went from 133 to 126 (-5.3% change). The surname moved down 9,304 positions in the national ranking, going from #128,249 to #137,553.
FAQ
Hofstrand surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hofstrand?
Name Census estimates that about 144 living Americans carry the surname Hofstrand. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,380,238 residents.
How common is Hofstrand?
Hofstrand ranks #137,553 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 126 people with the surname Hofstrand. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (144), 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 Hofstrand.
Has Hofstrand become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hofstrand went from 133 recorded bearers to 126. That is a decrease of 7 (-5.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #128,249 to #137,553.
What does the Census say about the background of Hofstrand?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hofstrand, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%). 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 Hofstrand in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.2% (125 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hofstrand appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%). 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 Hofstrand (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 Hofstrand mean?
A Swedish place name referring to a court or farm near a beach or shore. 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 Hofstrand (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 are called Hofstrand?
You can see how common the surname Hofstrand is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.