2000
#1,192
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 26,956
First available Census row
Per 100,000 9.99
Uncommon Last name
Hopper
An occupational surname referring to a dancer, acrobat, or one who transported hops for brewing beer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 29,831 Americans carry the last name Hopper. That puts it at #1,328 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 8.70 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 11,490 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hopper 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 Hopper with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
30K
1 in 11,490
Census rank
#1,328
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
8.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
26K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 26,014 bearers of the surname Hopper in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 8.70 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1328th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hopper, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.0%. The next largest groups are Black (6.2%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hopper
The surname Hopper is of English origin, deriving from the occupational name for a maker or trader of hops, the plant used in brewing beer. The name dates back to the late 13th century, with the earliest known record being a Ralph le Hoppere listed in the Norfolk Hundred Rolls of 1275.
Hopper is believed to have originated from the Old English pre 7th Century word "hopp" or the Middle English "hopper", both referring to the hop plant. Variations in early spellings included Hoppere, Hopper, and Hoppar. The name was particularly prevalent in areas known for hop cultivation and brewing, such as Kent, Sussex, and the West Country regions of England.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, there are no direct references to the surname Hopper, but there are several mentions of places with names derived from the word "hop", suggesting the plant's importance in medieval England. One example is the village of Hoppesford in Hampshire, recorded as "Hopesforde" in the Domesday survey.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Hopper was John Hopper, a vintner (wine merchant) from London, who is mentioned in records from the 1390s. In the 15th century, Robert Hopper was a prominent merchant and alderman in the city of Norwich, serving as Mayor in 1452.
During the English Reformation, Edmund Hopper (c. 1500-1555) was a Catholic martyr who was executed for his religious beliefs under the reign of Queen Mary I. Another notable figure was Jeremiah Hopper (1717-1805), an American soldier who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
In the field of science, Grace Hopper (1906-1992) was a pioneering American computer scientist and naval officer. She was one of the first programmers of the Harvard Mark I computer and is credited with coining the term "debugging" in reference to computer programming.
Other well-known individuals with the surname Hopper include Edward Hopper (1882-1967), the renowned American realist painter known for his iconic works depicting urban scenes and landscapes, and Dennis Hopper (1936-2010), the acclaimed American actor, filmmaker, and artist associated with the counterculture movement of the 1960s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hopper
Among Census respondents with the surname Hopper, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.0%. The next largest groups are Black (6.2%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Hopper 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 Hopper surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.0% · 21,849
- Black or African American6.2% · 1,614
- Two or more races4.4% · 1,137
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 926
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 300
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 188
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hopper
Hopper 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
#1,281
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 27,353
+397 bearers (+1.5%)
Per 100,000 9.27
Rank movement Down 89 places
2020
#1,328
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 26,014
-1,339 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 8.70
Rank movement Down 47 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,192 | 26,956 | 9.99 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,281 | 27,353 | 9.27 | +397 bearers (+1.5%) | Down 89 places |
| 2020 | #1,328 | 26,014 | 8.70 | -1,339 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 47 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 Hopper 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 | #1,281 | #1,328 | -3.7% |
| Count | 27,353 | 26,014 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 9.27 | 8.70 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hopper bearers went from 27,353 to 26,014 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 47 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,281 to #1,328.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hopper
FAQ
Hopper surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hopper?
Name Census estimates that about 29,831 living Americans carry the surname Hopper. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 11,490 residents.
How common is Hopper?
Hopper ranks #1,328 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 8.70 per 100,000 residents, which is about 9 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 26,014 people with the surname Hopper. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (29,831), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 8.7 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 8.70 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 9 of them to have the surname Hopper.
Has Hopper become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hopper went from 27,353 recorded bearers to 26,014. That is a decrease of 1,339 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,281 to #1,328.
What does the Census say about the background of Hopper?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hopper, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.0%. The next largest groups are Black (6.2%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Hopper in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.0% (21,849 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hopper appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.0%), Black (6.2%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Hopper (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 Hopper mean?
An occupational surname referring to a dancer, acrobat, or one who transported hops for brewing beer. 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 Hopper (8.70 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 Americans have the surname Hopper?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.