2000
#11,803
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,431
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.90
Rare Last name
Houghtaling
Derived from a place name meaning "wooded nook" in Old English, likely referring to the bearer's residence.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,629 Americans carry the last name Houghtaling. That puts it at #12,821 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.77 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 130,374 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Houghtaling 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
2.6K
1 in 130,374
Census rank
#12,821
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,293 bearers of the surname Houghtaling in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.77 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12821st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Houghtaling, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Houghtaling
The surname Houghtaling is of Dutch origin, and it can be traced back to the early 17th century in the Netherlands. The name is believed to have derived from the Dutch words 'hoog' meaning 'high' and 'taling' meaning 'branch' or 'twig,' suggesting that the name may have referred to a person who lived near a high branch or tree.
The earliest recorded instances of the Houghtaling surname can be found in the Dutch province of Gelderland, particularly in the towns of Nijmegen and Arnhem. The name was often spelled as Hooghtaling or Hoochtaling in its early iterations.
One of the earliest known references to the Houghtaling name is found in a church record from the town of Nijmegen, dated 1628, which mentions a marriage between Jan Hooghtaling and Maria van der Heijden. Another notable early record is a land deed from 1642 in Arnhem, which bears the signature of a Gerrit Hooghtaling.
As the Dutch began to settle in the American colonies in the 17th century, the Houghtaling name traveled across the Atlantic. One of the earliest recorded Houghtalings in America was Pieter Houghtaling, who arrived in New Amsterdam (present-day New York City) around 1660. Pieter and his descendants went on to establish themselves in the Hudson Valley region of New York.
Over the centuries, several notable individuals have carried the Houghtaling surname. One of the most prominent was John Houghtaling (1755-1839), a soldier and farmer from New York who fought in the American Revolutionary War. Another was Samuel Houghtaling (1790-1868), a minister and educator who served as the president of Rutgers College (now Rutgers University) from 1842 to 1851.
In the 19th century, Charles Houghtaling (1828-1917) was a successful businessman and philanthropist in Troy, New York, where he founded the Houghtaling Hose Company, a manufacturer of fire hoses. Another notable figure was Albert Houghtaling (1858-1932), a lawyer and judge who served as a justice on the Supreme Court of Michigan from 1909 to 1932.
Additionally, the Houghtaling name has been associated with several place names in the United States, particularly in New York state, where towns and villages such as Houghtaling Island and Houghtaling Corners bear the family's name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Houghtaling
Among Census respondents with the surname Houghtaling, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Houghtaling 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 Houghtaling surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.5% · 2,097
- Two or more races4.2% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 72
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 16
- Black or African American0.3% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Houghtaling
Houghtaling 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
#12,656
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,444
+13 bearers (+0.5%)
Per 100,000 0.83
Rank movement Down 853 places
2020
#12,821
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,293
-151 bearers (-6.2%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Down 165 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,803 | 2,431 | 0.90 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,656 | 2,444 | 0.83 | +13 bearers (+0.5%) | Down 853 places |
| 2020 | #12,821 | 2,293 | 0.77 | -151 bearers (-6.2%) | Down 165 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 Houghtaling 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 | #12,656 | #12,821 | -1.3% |
| Count | 2,444 | 2,293 | -6.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.83 | 0.77 | -7.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Houghtaling bearers went from 2,444 to 2,293 (-6.2% change). The surname moved down 165 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,656 to #12,821.
FAQ
Houghtaling surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Houghtaling?
Name Census estimates that about 2,629 living Americans carry the surname Houghtaling. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 130,374 residents.
How common is Houghtaling?
Houghtaling ranks #12,821 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.77 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,293 people with the surname Houghtaling. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,629), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.77 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.77 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Houghtaling.
Has Houghtaling become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Houghtaling went from 2,444 recorded bearers to 2,293. That is a decrease of 151 (-6.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,656 to #12,821.
What does the Census say about the background of Houghtaling?
Among Census respondents with the surname Houghtaling, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Houghtaling in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (2,097 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Houghtaling appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.5%), Two or More Races (4.2%), Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Houghtaling (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 Houghtaling mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "wooded nook" in Old English, likely referring to the bearer's residence. 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 Houghtaling (0.77 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 Houghtaling?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.