2000
#13,075
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,147
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.80
Rare Last name
Hon
A Chinese surname meaning "great" or "vast," or a Cantonese romanization of the surname 韓 (Hon) meaning "Han dynasty."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,933 Americans carry the last name Hon. That puts it at #11,717 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.86 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 116,861 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hon 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Hon with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.9K
1 in 116,861
Census rank
#11,717
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,558 bearers of the surname Hon in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.86 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11717th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hon, the largest self-reported group is White at 52.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (37.6%) and Hispanic (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hon
The surname HON traces its origins back to medieval England, where it emerged as an occupational name for someone who worked as a maker or seller of hoods, a type of headgear that was popular during that era. It is derived from the Old English word "hod," meaning "hood."
The earliest recorded instances of the HON surname can be found in various historical documents from the 13th and 14th centuries, such as tax records, court rolls, and parish registers. One notable example is the appearance of the name in the Hundred Rolls of Huntingdonshire in 1273, where a certain William le Hone is mentioned.
During the Middle Ages, the HON surname was particularly prevalent in areas such as Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex, where the hood-making industry was thriving. Over time, the name also developed various spelling variations, including Hone, Houn, and Houn.
While the HON surname initially originated as an occupational name, it later became associated with certain place names as well. For instance, in the Domesday Book of 1086, a settlement called Huna is recorded in Lincolnshire, which may have contributed to the formation of the HON surname for those residing in or near that area.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the HON surname. One of the earliest recorded was Sir William Honne, a member of the English gentry from Buckinghamshire, who lived during the 14th century. In the 16th century, Sir John Houne (1532-1598) was a prominent English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for Leicestershire.
Another notable figure was Thomas Hone (1570-1623), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Regius Professor of Greek at the University of Cambridge. In the literary world, William Hone (1780-1842) was a renowned English writer and satirist, best known for his works such as "The Political House that Jack Built" and "The Apocryphal New Testament."
Finally, one cannot overlook the contribution of Nathaniel Hone (1718-1784), an Irish-born painter who achieved great success in portraiture and was appointed as the Principal Painter to the Prince of Wales during the reign of King George III.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hon
Among Census respondents with the surname Hon, the largest self-reported group is White at 52.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (37.6%) and Hispanic (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Hon 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 Hon surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White52.3% · 1,337
- Asian and Pacific Islander37.6% · 963
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 114
- Two or more races3.6% · 91
- Black or African American2.0% · 50
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hon
Hon 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
#12,732
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,424
+277 bearers (+12.9%)
Per 100,000 0.82
Rank movement Up 343 places
2020
#11,717
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,558
+134 bearers (+5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.86
Rank movement Up 1,015 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,075 | 2,147 | 0.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,732 | 2,424 | 0.82 | +277 bearers (+12.9%) | Up 343 places |
| 2020 | #11,717 | 2,558 | 0.86 | +134 bearers (+5.5%) | Up 1,015 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 Hon 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 | #12,732 | #11,717 | 8.0% |
| Count | 2,424 | 2,558 | 5.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.82 | 0.86 | 4.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hon bearers went from 2,424 to 2,558 (+5.5% change). The surname moved up 1,015 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,732 to #11,717.
FAQ
Hon surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hon?
Name Census estimates that about 2,933 living Americans carry the surname Hon. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 116,861 residents.
How common is Hon?
Hon ranks #11,717 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.86 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 2,558 people with the surname Hon. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,933), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.86 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.86 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 Hon.
Has Hon become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hon went from 2,424 recorded bearers to 2,558. That is an increase of 134 (+5.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,732 to #11,717.
What does the Census say about the background of Hon?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hon, the largest self-reported group is White at 52.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (37.6%) and Hispanic (4.5%). 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 Hon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.3% (1,337 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hon appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (52.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (37.6%), Hispanic (4.5%). 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 Hon (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 Hon mean?
A Chinese surname meaning "great" or "vast," or a Cantonese romanization of the surname 韓 (Hon) meaning "Han dynasty." 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 Hon (0.86 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 common is the surname Hon?
Want to know how many people have the last name Hon? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.