2000
#8,811
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,423
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.27
Rare Last name
Hohman
A German occupational surname referring to a person who lived on or near a prominent hill or mountain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,875 Americans carry the last name Hohman. That puts it at #9,253 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.13 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 88,453 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hohman 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
3.9K
1 in 88,453
Census rank
#9,253
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,379 bearers of the surname Hohman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.13 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9253rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hohman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hohman
The surname Hohman is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "hohe", meaning "high" or "elevated", and "man", signifying a person. The name likely originated in the medieval era, possibly as early as the 12th or 13th century, and was initially used as a descriptive name for someone who lived or worked on higher ground or in an elevated area.
The earliest recorded instances of the Hohman surname can be traced back to various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland. It appears in historical records and documents from the 14th and 15th centuries, often spelled as "Hohemann" or "Hohemannus". One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Johann Hohman, a merchant and burgher in the city of Nuremberg, who lived in the late 15th century.
In the 16th century, the Hohman surname can be found in various German church records and parish registers. Notably, a branch of the family settled in the town of Eppingen in Baden-Württemberg, where several generations of Hohmans were recorded as landowners and craftsmen. One prominent figure from this lineage was Hans Hohman (1525-1592), a respected blacksmith and respected member of the local community.
As the Hohman family spread across different regions of Germany, the name evolved into various spellings, such as "Hohmann", "Hoemann", and "Hohemanns". In the 18th century, Johann Michael Hohman (1718-1792), a Lutheran pastor and author from Saxony, gained recognition for his work on German folklore and traditional remedies, publishing a book titled "Hohman's Long Lost Friend".
During the 19th century, many Hohmans emigrated from Germany to other parts of the world, including the United States and Canada. One notable figure was Carl Hohman (1832-1912), a German-American architect who designed several prominent buildings in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Other notable individuals with the Hohman surname include Johann Hohman (1885-1966), a German-born American businessman and philanthropist from New York City, and Heinrich Hohman (1890-1968), a German military officer and recipient of the prestigious Pour le Mérite during World War I.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hohman
Among Census respondents with the surname Hohman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Hohman 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 Hohman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.6% · 3,163
- Two or more races2.5% · 84
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 75
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 15
- Black or African American0.4% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hohman
Hohman 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
#9,286
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,505
+82 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 1.19
Rank movement Down 475 places
2020
#9,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,379
-126 bearers (-3.6%)
Per 100,000 1.13
Rank movement Up 33 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,811 | 3,423 | 1.27 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,286 | 3,505 | 1.19 | +82 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 475 places |
| 2020 | #9,253 | 3,379 | 1.13 | -126 bearers (-3.6%) | Up 33 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 Hohman 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 | #9,286 | #9,253 | 0.4% |
| Count | 3,505 | 3,379 | -3.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.19 | 1.13 | -5.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hohman bearers went from 3,505 to 3,379 (-3.6% change). The surname moved up 33 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,286 to #9,253.
FAQ
Hohman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hohman?
Name Census estimates that about 3,875 living Americans carry the surname Hohman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 88,453 residents.
How common is Hohman?
Hohman ranks #9,253 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.13 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 3,379 people with the surname Hohman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,875), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.13 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.13 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 Hohman.
Has Hohman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hohman went from 3,505 recorded bearers to 3,379. That is a decrease of 126 (-3.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,286 to #9,253.
What does the Census say about the background of Hohman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hohman, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Hohman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.6% (3,163 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hohman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.6%), Two or More Races (2.5%), Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Hohman (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 Hohman mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a person who lived on or near a prominent hill or mountain. 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 Hohman (1.13 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 Hohman?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Hohman at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.