2010
#133,048
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 127
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Hoiby
A surname derived from a farmstead name in Norway.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Hoiby. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hoiby 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Hoiby in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoiby, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.9%) and Hispanic (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hoiby
The surname Hoiby has its origins in Norway, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the Old Norse words "hói" meaning "hill" or "mound" and "bý" meaning "farm" or "settlement." Essentially, Hoiby was likely a descriptive name referring to a farm or homestead situated on a hill or raised ground.
During the Viking Age, surnames were not widely used, and people were primarily identified by their given names or patronymics (referring to their father's name). The adoption of hereditary surnames in Norway occurred gradually, with the nobility and landed gentry being among the first to adopt them in the 12th and 13th centuries.
One of the earliest known references to the name Hoiby can be found in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of medieval Norwegian diplomas and letters. In this collection, a man named Thorbiorn Hoiby is mentioned in a document dated 1345.
Another notable early bearer of the name was Sigurd Hoiby, a Norwegian landowner and chieftain who lived in the late 14th century. Historical records suggest that he was involved in disputes over land and property rights in the region of Østfold, eastern Norway.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the spelling of the name evolved, with variations such as Høyby, Høybye, and Hoyby appearing in various records and documents. One prominent individual from this period was Jens Pedersen Hoiby (1561-1631), a Norwegian clergyman and writer who served as the Bishop of Stavanger from 1617 until his death.
In the 18th century, Erik Hoiby (1702-1768) was a Norwegian merchant and ship owner based in the city of Trondheim. He played a significant role in the city's maritime trade and commerce during his lifetime.
Another notable bearer of the name was Jens Hoiby (1796-1873), a Norwegian philosopher and educator who was instrumental in establishing the Norwegian Folk High School movement, which aimed to provide adult education and promote cultural awareness among the rural population.
As the name Hoiby spread throughout Norway and beyond, it also found its way to other parts of the world, including the United States and Canada, primarily through immigration in the 19th and early 20th centuries. However, the name remains relatively uncommon outside of its Norwegian origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hoiby
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoiby, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.9%) and Hispanic (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Hoiby 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 Hoiby surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.6% · 101
- Two or more races5.9% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hoiby
Hoiby appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
-9 bearers (-7.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,463 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #133,048 | 127 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | -9 bearers (-7.1%) | Down 10,463 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 Hoiby 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 | #133,048 | #143,511 | -7.9% |
| Count | 127 | 118 | -7.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hoiby bearers went from 127 to 118 (-7.1% change). The surname moved down 10,463 positions in the national ranking, going from #133,048 to #143,511.
FAQ
Hoiby surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hoiby?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Hoiby. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Hoiby?
Hoiby ranks #143,511 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 118 people with the surname Hoiby. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), 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 Hoiby.
Has Hoiby become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hoiby went from 127 recorded bearers to 118. That is a decrease of 9 (-7.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #133,048 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Hoiby?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoiby, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.9%) and Hispanic (5.1%). 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 Hoiby in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.6% (101 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hoiby appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.6%), Two or More Races (5.9%), Hispanic (5.1%). 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 Hoiby (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 Hoiby mean?
A surname derived from a farmstead name in Norway. 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 Hoiby (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 have the last name Hoiby?
See how many people have the surname Hoiby on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.