2000
#4,546
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,164
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.66
Rare Last name
Hornsby
A locational surname referring to someone from any of the various places named Hornsby in England.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,107 Americans carry the last name Hornsby. That puts it at #4,844 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.37 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 42,279 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hornsby 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 Hornsby with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.1K
1 in 42,279
Census rank
#4,844
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,070 bearers of the surname Hornsby in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.37 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4844th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hornsby, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.6%. The next largest groups are Black (14.4%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hornsby
The surname Hornsby is of English origin, derived from a place name that can be traced back to the 11th century. It is believed to have originated in the village of Hornsby, located in the county of Yorkshire. The name is derived from the Old English words "horn" and "by," meaning "horn-shaped village" or "village by the horn-shaped bend in the river."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Hornsby can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name was spelled "Hornesbi" in this medieval document, reflecting the phonetic spelling of the time.
During the 13th century, the surname Hornsby appeared in various records, such as the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire, where it was documented as "Hornesby" and "Hornsebi." This period also saw the emergence of the variant spelling "Hornesby," which was used by several families in the region.
Notable individuals who carried the Hornsby surname include William Hornsby (1490-1554), who was a prominent landowner and member of the gentry in Nottinghamshire. Another notable figure was Richard Hornsby (1624-1697), a scholar and clergyman who served as the Archdeacon of Stafford.
In the 18th century, John Hornsby (1744-1823) gained recognition as a renowned mathematician and astronomer. He made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and published several influential works on the subject.
One of the most famous individuals with the surname Hornsby was William Henry Hornsby (1805-1884), a pioneering English engineer and industrialist. He founded the Hornsby Company, a leading manufacturer of agricultural machinery and steam engines, which played a pivotal role in the industrialization of British agriculture.
Another notable figure was Sir Benjamin Hornsby (1848-1927), a British naval officer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament and held various important naval commands during his career.
Throughout its history, the surname Hornsby has been associated with various place names and geographical locations, such as Hornsby in New South Wales, Australia, which was named after John Hornsby, an early settler in the region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hornsby
Among Census respondents with the surname Hornsby, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.6%. The next largest groups are Black (14.4%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Hornsby 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 Hornsby surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.6% · 5,489
- Black or African American14.4% · 1,015
- Two or more races4.1% · 290
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 211
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 33
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 32
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hornsby
Hornsby 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
#4,850
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,267
+103 bearers (+1.4%)
Per 100,000 2.46
Rank movement Down 304 places
2020
#4,844
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,070
-197 bearers (-2.7%)
Per 100,000 2.37
Rank movement Up 6 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,546 | 7,164 | 2.66 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,850 | 7,267 | 2.46 | +103 bearers (+1.4%) | Down 304 places |
| 2020 | #4,844 | 7,070 | 2.37 | -197 bearers (-2.7%) | Up 6 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 Hornsby 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 | #4,850 | #4,844 | 0.1% |
| Count | 7,267 | 7,070 | -2.7% |
| Per 100K | 2.46 | 2.37 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hornsby bearers went from 7,267 to 7,070 (-2.7% change). The surname moved up 6 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,850 to #4,844.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hornsby
FAQ
Hornsby surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hornsby?
Name Census estimates that about 8,107 living Americans carry the surname Hornsby. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 42,279 residents.
How common is Hornsby?
Hornsby ranks #4,844 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.37 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,070 people with the surname Hornsby. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,107), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.37 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.37 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Hornsby.
Has Hornsby become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hornsby went from 7,267 recorded bearers to 7,070. That is a decrease of 197 (-2.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #4,850 to #4,844.
What does the Census say about the background of Hornsby?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hornsby, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.6%. The next largest groups are Black (14.4%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Hornsby in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.6% (5,489 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hornsby appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (77.6%), Black (14.4%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Hornsby (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 Hornsby mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from any of the various places named Hornsby in England. 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 Hornsby (2.37 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 Hornsby?
Find out how many people are called Hornsby on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.