2000
#3,581
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,115
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.38
Rare Last name
Hoppe
A German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word "hopfe," meaning a hop plant or a hop grower.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,805 Americans carry the last name Hoppe. That puts it at #4,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.86 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 34,957 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hoppe 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 Hoppe with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.8K
1 in 34,957
Census rank
#4,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,550 bearers of the surname Hoppe in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.86 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoppe, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hoppe
The surname Hoppe is of German origin, with roots dating back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Middle High German word "hoppe," which means "small elevated area" or "hill." This suggests that the name may have originated from a place name referring to a location situated on a hill or a small elevated area.
The earliest known record of the name Hoppe can be traced back to the 13th century in various German regions, including Saxony and Silesia. In the Codex Diplomaticus Silesiae, a manuscript containing historical documents from Silesia, the name appears as "Hoppe" in the year 1292.
During the 14th century, there are several mentions of individuals bearing the name Hoppe in various historical records. One notable example is Johann Hoppe, a merchant from Nuremberg, who was mentioned in the city's trade records in 1367.
In the 15th century, the name Hoppe gained prominence in the region of Westphalia, where it appeared in the Werdener Urkundenbuch, a collection of historical documents from the town of Werden, in the year 1472. This suggests that the name had spread to different parts of Germany during this period.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name Hoppe was Hans Hoppe, a German theologian and reformer who lived from 1493 to 1565. He was a prominent figure in the Protestant Reformation and served as a professor at the University of Marburg.
In the 16th century, the name Hoppe continued to be found in various parts of Germany, with records mentioning individuals such as Christoph Hoppe, a merchant from Hamburg, in 1547, and Kaspar Hoppe, a craftsman from Cologne, in 1582.
During the 17th century, the name Hoppe appeared in the records of the town of Göttingen, where Johann Heinrich Hoppe, a scholar and philosopher, was born in 1663.
In the 18th century, a notable bearer of the name Hoppe was Johann Gottfried Hoppe, a German physician and botanist who lived from 1763 to 1847. He made significant contributions to the field of botany and is credited with describing several plant species.
The 19th century saw the birth of several individuals with the surname Hoppe, including the German painter Eduard Hoppe, who lived from 1854 to 1923, and the Austrian composer Gottfried Hoppe, born in 1832.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hoppe
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoppe, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Hoppe 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 Hoppe surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.7% · 7,844
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 323
- Two or more races3.3% · 280
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 58
- Black or African American0.3% · 29
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hoppe
Hoppe 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
#3,841
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,215
+100 bearers (+1.1%)
Per 100,000 3.12
Rank movement Down 260 places
2020
#4,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,550
-665 bearers (-7.2%)
Per 100,000 2.86
Rank movement Down 187 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,581 | 9,115 | 3.38 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,841 | 9,215 | 3.12 | +100 bearers (+1.1%) | Down 260 places |
| 2020 | #4,028 | 8,550 | 2.86 | -665 bearers (-7.2%) | Down 187 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 Hoppe 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 | #3,841 | #4,028 | -4.9% |
| Count | 9,215 | 8,550 | -7.2% |
| Per 100K | 3.12 | 2.86 | -8.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hoppe bearers went from 9,215 to 8,550 (-7.2% change). The surname moved down 187 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,841 to #4,028.
FAQ
Hoppe surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hoppe?
Name Census estimates that about 9,805 living Americans carry the surname Hoppe. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 34,957 residents.
How common is Hoppe?
Hoppe ranks #4,028 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.86 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,550 people with the surname Hoppe. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,805), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.86 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.86 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Hoppe.
Has Hoppe become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hoppe went from 9,215 recorded bearers to 8,550. That is a decrease of 665 (-7.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,841 to #4,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Hoppe?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoppe, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Hoppe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (7,844 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hoppe appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.7%), Hispanic (3.8%), Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Hoppe (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 Hoppe mean?
A German occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word "hopfe," meaning a hop plant or a hop grower. 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 Hoppe (2.86 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 many people have the surname Hoppe?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.