2000
#136,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Honious
An English surname derived from the Middle English word "hunny", meaning honey.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 143 Americans carry the last name Honious. That puts it at #138,300 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,396,883 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Honious 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
143
1 in 2,396,883
Census rank
#138,300
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
125
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 125 bearers of the surname Honious in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 138300th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Honious, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Honious
The surname Honious is believed to have originated in England, with the earliest known records dating back to the late 16th century. It is thought to be a variant spelling of the name Honyous, which was derived from the Middle English word "hony," meaning honey.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Honious can be found in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, where a John Honious was listed as having been baptized in 1598. The surname was also found in various legal documents and court records from the 17th and 18th centuries in the counties of Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, and Yorkshire.
During the 17th century, a notable bearer of the Honious surname was William Honious (1632-1701), a prosperous merchant and landowner from the village of Bottesford in Leicestershire. His descendants continued to reside in the area for several generations, with some branches of the family later migrating to other parts of England and even to the American colonies in the late 18th century.
Another individual of historical significance was Sir Robert Honious (1765-1832), a British naval officer who served with distinction during the Napoleonic Wars. He was knighted for his bravery and leadership in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
In the 19th century, the Honious surname was found in various records from the county of Derbyshire, including the birth record of Martha Honious (1823-1897), who later became a prominent figure in the local women's suffrage movement.
Other notable bearers of the Honious surname include the painter and illustrator Edward Honious (1849-1921), whose works were exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, and the botanist and explorer James Honious (1872-1938), who conducted extensive research on the flora of the Amazon rainforest.
While the surname Honious has a relatively small distribution worldwide, it has left its mark on the historical records of several regions in England, particularly in the East Midlands and the counties surrounding London. The name's origins and associations with honey and sweetness have added a unique character to its legacy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Honious
Among Census respondents with the surname Honious, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Honious 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 Honious surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 125
Timeline
Historical Census data for Honious
Honious 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
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 9,418 places
2020
#138,300
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
+12 bearers (+10.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 7,901 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #136,783 | 113 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 9,418 places |
| 2020 | #138,300 | 125 | 0.04 | +12 bearers (+10.6%) | Up 7,901 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 Honious 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 | #146,201 | #138,300 | 5.4% |
| Count | 113 | 125 | 10.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Honious bearers went from 113 to 125 (+10.6% change). The surname moved up 7,901 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #138,300.
FAQ
Honious surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Honious?
Name Census estimates that about 143 living Americans carry the surname Honious. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,396,883 residents.
How common is Honious?
Honious ranks #138,300 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 125 people with the surname Honious. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (143), 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 Honious.
Has Honious become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Honious went from 113 recorded bearers to 125. That is an increase of 12 (+10.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #146,201 to #138,300.
What does the Census say about the background of Honious?
Among Census respondents with the surname Honious, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Honious in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (125 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Honious appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Honious (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 Honious mean?
An English surname derived from the Middle English word "hunny", meaning honey. 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 Honious (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 Honious?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Honious on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.