2000
#873
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 36,288
First available Census row
Per 100,000 13.45
Uncommon Last name
Horne
Derived from a place name or a nickname for someone who lived near or worked with a horn.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 40,474 Americans carry the last name Horne. That puts it at #975 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 11.81 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 8,469 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Horne 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 Horne with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
40K
1 in 8,469
Census rank
#975
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
11.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
35K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 35,295 bearers of the surname Horne in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 11.81 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 975th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Horne, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.1%. The next largest groups are Black (23.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Horne
The surname Horne originated in England, deriving from the Old English word "hyrne" or "horn", meaning a corner or angle. It likely referred to someone who lived on a corner plot of land or at an angular bend in a road. The earliest recordings of the name date back to the late 12th century in the county of Essex.
One of the first documented references to the name appears in the Pipe Rolls of Sussex in 1195, where a Hugo de Horne is mentioned. In 1273, the Hundred Rolls of Norfolk record a Robert Horne, while the Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk in 1327 list a John Horne.
The Domesday Book, compiled in 1086 after the Norman conquest of England, does not contain any direct references to the Horne surname, but it does mention several places with similar names, such as Horne in Surrey and Horndon in Essex, which may have been the origin of some early bearers of the name.
In the 16th century, the name was sometimes spelled Hourne or Howrne, reflecting the regional dialects of the time. Notable individuals from this period include Robert Horne (1515-1580), an English bishop and Protestant reformer, and Thomas Horne (1536-1612), an English clergyman and biblical scholar.
Other prominent figures with the Horne surname over the centuries include George Horne (1730-1792), an English bishop and writer; Thomas Hartwell Horne (1780-1862), an English biblical scholar and author; and Richard Henry Horne (1802-1884), an English poet and dramatist.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Horne name spread across various regions of England, particularly in the counties of Essex, Kent, and Sussex. Some families with the surname also established roots in other parts of the British Isles, including Scotland and Ireland.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Horne
Among Census respondents with the surname Horne, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.1%. The next largest groups are Black (23.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Horne 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 Horne surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.1% · 24,040
- Black or African American23.7% · 8,363
- Two or more races4.2% · 1,494
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 1,011
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 209
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 178
Timeline
Historical Census data for Horne
Horne 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
#921
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 37,689
+1,401 bearers (+3.9%)
Per 100,000 12.78
Rank movement Down 48 places
2020
#975
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 35,295
-2,394 bearers (-6.4%)
Per 100,000 11.81
Rank movement Down 54 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #873 | 36,288 | 13.45 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #921 | 37,689 | 12.78 | +1,401 bearers (+3.9%) | Down 48 places |
| 2020 | #975 | 35,295 | 11.81 | -2,394 bearers (-6.4%) | Down 54 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 Horne 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 | #921 | #975 | -5.9% |
| Count | 37,689 | 35,295 | -6.4% |
| Per 100K | 12.78 | 11.81 | -7.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Horne bearers went from 37,689 to 35,295 (-6.4% change). The surname moved down 54 positions in the national ranking, going from #921 to #975.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Horne
FAQ
Horne surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Horne?
Name Census estimates that about 40,474 living Americans carry the surname Horne. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 8,469 residents.
How common is Horne?
Horne ranks #975 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 11.81 per 100,000 residents, which is about 12 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 35,295 people with the surname Horne. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (40,474), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 11.81 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 11.81 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 12 of them to have the surname Horne.
Has Horne become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Horne went from 37,689 recorded bearers to 35,295. That is a decrease of 2,394 (-6.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #921 to #975.
What does the Census say about the background of Horne?
Among Census respondents with the surname Horne, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.1%. The next largest groups are Black (23.7%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Horne in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.1% (24,040 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Horne appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (68.1%), Black (23.7%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Horne (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 Horne mean?
Derived from a place name or a nickname for someone who lived near or worked with a horn. 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 Horne (11.81 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 Horne?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.