Find out how popular the last name Hopewell is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Hopewell.

Hopewell, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Hopewell surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hopewell in America

Hopewell is the 18671st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hopewell surname appeared 1,473 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Hopewell.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hopewell to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Hopewell

The surname Hopewell has its origins in England, dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English words "hop" meaning "small valley" and "well" referring to a spring or stream, indicating that the name likely originated as a topographic name for someone who lived near a small valley with a stream.

One of the earliest recorded references to the name Hopewell can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Hopewelle" in relation to a settlement in Nottinghamshire. This suggests that the name was already well-established in parts of England by the late 11th century.

During the Middle Ages, the name Hopewell was most prevalent in the counties of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, and Yorkshire, where numerous place names containing the word "Hopewell" can be found, such as Hopewell Manor in Derbyshire and Hopewell Farm in Yorkshire.

One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Hopewell was Sir William Hopewell (c. 1290 - 1349), a prominent landowner and knight from Nottinghamshire who served in the armies of King Edward II and Edward III during the Hundred Years' War.

Another notable figure was John Hopewell (1516 - 1590), a clergyman from Derbyshire who served as the Bishop of Norwich from 1578 until his death. He was known for his support of the Protestant Reformation and his efforts to promote education in his diocese.

In the 17th century, the surname Hopewell gained some prominence in colonial America, with the arrival of several families bearing the name. One such individual was Thomas Hopewell (c. 1620 - 1683), a Quaker from Yorkshire who settled in Maryland and became a prominent landowner and community leader.

Another notable American Hopewell was Raphael Hopewell (1754 - 1828), a soldier and politician from Pennsylvania who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and later became a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate.

In more recent times, the name Hopewell has been associated with several distinguished individuals, such as Sir Geoffrey Hopewell (1909 - 1996), a British diplomat and ambassador to the United States from 1960 to 1965, and Sarah Hopewell (1926 - 2018), an American archaeologist renowned for her work on the Hopewell culture of ancient Native Americans.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hopewell

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Hopewell.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Hopewell was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Hopewell has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Hopewell was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Hopewell, please contact us.

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