2000
#124,109
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 128
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Hopey
A transferred use of the Middle English word "hope" meaning desire or expectation.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Hopey. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hopey 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
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Hopey in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hopey, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.6%. The next largest groups are Black (13.5%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hopey
The surname Hopey is of English origin, with roots dating back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English word "hop," which refers to the hop plant used in brewing beer. The name likely originated as a descriptive surname for someone who lived near or worked with hop plants.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hopey can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire, a census-like record from 1273. Here, the name appears as "Hoppe," an early variation of the spelling.
In the 14th century, the name was also recorded in various manorial records, such as the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire, where it was spelled "Hoppy." This variation suggests the name may have been used as a nickname or a shortened form of a longer name.
Hopey is also found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from the late 13th century, where it is spelled "Hoppey." This record indicates that the name was present in different regions of England during the medieval period.
One notable historical figure with the surname Hopey was John Hopey, a merchant and alderman in the city of Bristol in the late 15th century. Records show that he was involved in the wool trade and held influential positions in the local government.
Another individual of note was William Hopey, a yeoman farmer from Oxfordshire who lived in the early 17th century. His name appears in the parish records of the village of Bampton, where he owned land and served as a churchwarden.
In the 18th century, the name Hopey was also recorded in the parish registers of Gloucestershire, with entries for the baptisms and marriages of several individuals bearing this surname. One such entry mentions a Thomas Hopey, who was born in 1723 in the village of Painswick.
The surname Hopey has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Hopey Green in Staffordshire and Hopey Hill in Derbyshire. These locations may have derived their names from individuals with the surname Hopey who lived or owned land in those areas.
Throughout its history, the surname Hopey has maintained a consistent spelling, although variations like Hoppe, Hoppy, and Hoppey were also used in earlier times. Overall, the name reflects the agricultural and brewing traditions of medieval and early modern England.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hopey
Among Census respondents with the surname Hopey, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.6%. The next largest groups are Black (13.5%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Hopey 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 Hopey surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.6% · 88
- Black or African American13.5% · 14
- Two or more races1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hopey
Hopey 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
#148,347
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-17 bearers (-13.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 24,238 places
2020
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-7 bearers (-6.3%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 5,243 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #124,109 | 128 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #148,347 | 111 | 0.04 | -17 bearers (-13.3%) | Down 24,238 places |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | -7 bearers (-6.3%) | Down 5,243 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 Hopey 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 | #148,347 | #153,590 | -3.5% |
| Count | 111 | 104 | -6.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hopey bearers went from 111 to 104 (-6.3% change). The surname moved down 5,243 positions in the national ranking, going from #148,347 to #153,590.
FAQ
Hopey surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hopey?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Hopey. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Hopey?
Hopey ranks #153,590 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 104 people with the surname Hopey. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Hopey.
Has Hopey become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hopey went from 111 recorded bearers to 104. That is a decrease of 7 (-6.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #148,347 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Hopey?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hopey, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.6%. The next largest groups are Black (13.5%) and Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Hopey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.6% (88 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hopey appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.6%), Black (13.5%), Two or More Races (1.9%). 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 Hopey (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 Hopey mean?
A transferred use of the Middle English word "hope" meaning desire or expectation. 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 Hopey (0.03 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 Hopey?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Hopey is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.