2000
#936
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 34,084
First available Census row
Per 100,000 12.63
Uncommon Last name
Hooper
An occupational surname referring to a person who made or repaired wooden hoops for barrels or buckets.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 37,289 Americans carry the last name Hooper. That puts it at #1,060 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 10.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 9,192 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hooper 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 Hooper with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
37K
1 in 9,192
Census rank
#1,060
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
10.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
33K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 32,518 bearers of the surname Hooper in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 10.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1060th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hooper, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.8%. The next largest groups are Black (13.2%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hooper
The surname Hooper originated in England and can be traced back to the 11th century. It derives from the Old English pre-7th century word "hoper" or "hopor," meaning a vaulter or leaper, likely referring to an agile person or an acrobat. The name may have also been associated with the occupation of a manufacturer or seller of hoops.
The earliest recorded instance of the surname appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is spelled as "Hopere" and "Hoppere." The name was most prevalent in the counties of Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, and Oxfordshire during the medieval period.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was William le Hoppere, who was recorded in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1279. In the 14th century, John Hoper was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Somerset in 1330.
During the 16th century, the spelling of the name evolved to its modern form, "Hooper." Notable individuals with this surname include John Hooper (c. 1495-1555), an English Protestant reformer and martyr who was burned at the stake during the Marian Persecutions.
In the 17th century, George Hooper (1640-1727) was an English philosopher and theologian, while Robert Hooper (1773-1835) was a renowned English dramatist and writer. In the 19th century, Wilfred Hooper (1822-1892) was a British engineer and inventor who patented several improvements in agricultural machinery.
Another significant bearer of the Hooper name was Sir Ralph Hooper (1773-1835), a British naval officer and colonial administrator who served as the Lieutenant-Governor of Prince Edward Island from 1824 to 1830.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hooper
Among Census respondents with the surname Hooper, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.8%. The next largest groups are Black (13.2%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Hooper 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 Hooper surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.8% · 24,983
- Black or African American13.2% · 4,302
- Two or more races4.1% · 1,337
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 1,217
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 423
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 256
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hooper
Hooper 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
#1,020
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 34,247
+163 bearers (+0.5%)
Per 100,000 11.61
Rank movement Down 84 places
2020
#1,060
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 32,518
-1,729 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 10.88
Rank movement Down 40 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #936 | 34,084 | 12.63 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,020 | 34,247 | 11.61 | +163 bearers (+0.5%) | Down 84 places |
| 2020 | #1,060 | 32,518 | 10.88 | -1,729 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 40 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 Hooper 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 | #1,020 | #1,060 | -3.9% |
| Count | 34,247 | 32,518 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 11.61 | 10.88 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hooper bearers went from 34,247 to 32,518 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 40 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,020 to #1,060.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hooper
FAQ
Hooper surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hooper?
Name Census estimates that about 37,289 living Americans carry the surname Hooper. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 9,192 residents.
How common is Hooper?
Hooper ranks #1,060 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 10.88 per 100,000 residents, which is about 11 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 32,518 people with the surname Hooper. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (37,289), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 10.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 10.88 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 11 of them to have the surname Hooper.
Has Hooper become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hooper went from 34,247 recorded bearers to 32,518. That is a decrease of 1,729 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,020 to #1,060.
What does the Census say about the background of Hooper?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hooper, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.8%. The next largest groups are Black (13.2%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Hooper in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.8% (24,983 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hooper appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (76.8%), Black (13.2%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Hooper (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 Hooper mean?
An occupational surname referring to a person who made or repaired wooden hoops for barrels or buckets. 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 Hooper (10.88 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 Hooper?
See how many Americans have the surname Hooper on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.