2000
#3,819
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,531
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.16
Rare Last name
Hoke
Derived from a place name meaning "hook" or "angle," likely referring to a curved or angled landscape feature.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,650 Americans carry the last name Hoke. That puts it at #4,085 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.82 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 35,519 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hoke 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
9.7K
1 in 35,519
Census rank
#4,085
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,415 bearers of the surname Hoke in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.82 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4085th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoke, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Black (5.2%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hoke
The surname HOKE originated in Germany, with its earliest known records dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "hoch," meaning "high" or "elevated," potentially referring to someone who lived on a hill or a high place.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name HOKE can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval documents from the region of Fulda, Germany, where a person named Hocco was mentioned in a land deed from the year 1189.
The name HOKE also appeared in various medieval records and manuscripts from different parts of Germany, such as the Liber Censuum from the city of Cologne, where a certain Hocken was listed as a taxpayer in 1312.
In the 16th century, the HOKE surname began to spread beyond Germany, with some notable individuals bearing this name. One example is Johann Hoke, a German Protestant reformer born in 1535 in Renchen, who played a significant role in the Reformation movement in the region of Baden.
As the name HOKE continued to evolve, it took on various spellings and forms, including Hocke, Hocken, and Hoken. These variations were often influenced by local dialects and regional pronunciations.
Another historical figure with the HOKE surname was Christoph Hoke, a German composer and organist born in 1554 in Hildesheim. He was renowned for his contributions to sacred music and served as the court organist for the Prince-Bishop of Hildesheim.
In the 18th century, the HOKE name found its way to the United States, with some of the earliest recorded instances being Johann Hoke, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1743, and Michael Hoke, who settled in Pennsylvania in 1765.
One notable American figure with the HOKE surname was Robert Frederick Hoke, a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Born in 1837 in Lincolnton, North Carolina, he fought in several major battles, including the Battle of Chancellorsville and the Siege of Petersburg.
Another significant individual with the HOKE name was Esther Hoke, a pioneering American archaeologist born in 1884 in Pennsylvania. She conducted extensive excavations in the southwestern United States and made significant contributions to the understanding of ancient Pueblo cultures.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hoke
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoke, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Black (5.2%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Hoke 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 Hoke surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.3% · 7,263
- Black or African American5.2% · 437
- Two or more races4.2% · 357
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 222
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 113
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 23
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hoke
Hoke 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
#3,901
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,096
+565 bearers (+6.6%)
Per 100,000 3.08
Rank movement Down 82 places
2020
#4,085
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,415
-681 bearers (-7.5%)
Per 100,000 2.82
Rank movement Down 184 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,819 | 8,531 | 3.16 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,901 | 9,096 | 3.08 | +565 bearers (+6.6%) | Down 82 places |
| 2020 | #4,085 | 8,415 | 2.82 | -681 bearers (-7.5%) | Down 184 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 Hoke 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 | #3,901 | #4,085 | -4.7% |
| Count | 9,096 | 8,415 | -7.5% |
| Per 100K | 3.08 | 2.82 | -8.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hoke bearers went from 9,096 to 8,415 (-7.5% change). The surname moved down 184 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,901 to #4,085.
FAQ
Hoke surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hoke?
Name Census estimates that about 9,650 living Americans carry the surname Hoke. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 35,519 residents.
How common is Hoke?
Hoke ranks #4,085 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.82 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,415 people with the surname Hoke. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,650), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.82 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.82 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Hoke.
Has Hoke become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hoke went from 9,096 recorded bearers to 8,415. That is a decrease of 681 (-7.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,901 to #4,085.
What does the Census say about the background of Hoke?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoke, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Black (5.2%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Hoke in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.3% (7,263 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hoke appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.3%), Black (5.2%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Hoke (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 Hoke mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "hook" or "angle," likely referring to a curved or angled landscape feature. 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 Hoke (2.82 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 Hoke?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Hoke at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.