2000
#146,011
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Houlis
A surname derived from the Greek island of Chios, likely referring to an ancestor from that region.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 130 Americans carry the last name Houlis. That puts it at #147,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,636,572 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Houlis 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
130
1 in 2,636,572
Census rank
#147,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
113
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 113 bearers of the surname Houlis in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Houlis, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Houlis
The surname HOULIS is believed to have originated in Northern France during the 12th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old French word "houlette," which means a shepherd's crook or staff. This suggests that the name may have been initially given as an occupational surname to someone who worked as a shepherd or herder.
The earliest recorded instance of the HOULIS surname appears in the Cartulaire de Saint-Père de Chartres, a collection of medieval charters from the Abbey of Saint-Père in Chartres, dated around 1180. In this document, a person named Radulfus Houliz is mentioned, which is believed to be an early spelling variation of the surname.
In the 13th century, the name HOULIS can be found in various records from the Normandy region of France, such as the Rôles de l'Échiquier de Normandie, which were administrative records kept by the Exchequer of Normandy. This suggests that the name was well-established in this area during the Middle Ages.
One notable historical figure with the HOULIS surname was Jean Houlis, a French clergyman who lived in the 15th century. He was a canon of the Cathedral of Rouen and is mentioned in several ecclesiastical records from that time period.
In the 16th century, the HOULIS name appears in the records of the Huguenot diaspora, as some families with this surname fled France during the French Wars of Religion and settled in other parts of Europe and the Americas.
Another individual of note was Jacques Houlis, a French explorer and cartographer who lived in the late 17th century. He is credited with mapping parts of the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico region for the French colonial empire.
During the 18th century, the HOULIS surname can be found in various records from the region of Brittany, France, suggesting that the name had spread to other areas of the country by this time.
One example of a prominent HOULIS from this era is Pierre Houlis, a French naval officer who served in the American Revolutionary War as part of the French forces supporting the American colonists.
In the 19th century, the HOULIS name appears in records from the French colonies in the Caribbean, particularly in Haiti and Guadeloupe, indicating that some families with this surname had settled in these regions.
An example from this time period is Henri Houlis, a Haitian writer and journalist who was born in 1835 and played a significant role in the literary and cultural movements of his time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Houlis
Among Census respondents with the surname Houlis, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Houlis 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 Houlis surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.9% · 105
- Two or more races4.4% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Houlis
Houlis 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
#154,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
+1 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,896 places
2020
#147,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
+8 bearers (+7.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 7,686 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #146,011 | 104 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #154,907 | 105 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+1.0%) | Down 8,896 places |
| 2020 | #147,221 | 113 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+7.6%) | Up 7,686 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 Houlis 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 | #154,907 | #147,221 | 5.0% |
| Count | 105 | 113 | 7.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Houlis bearers went from 105 to 113 (+7.6% change). The surname moved up 7,686 positions in the national ranking, going from #154,907 to #147,221.
FAQ
Houlis surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Houlis?
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the surname Houlis. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,636,572 residents.
How common is Houlis?
Houlis ranks #147,221 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 113 people with the surname Houlis. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (130), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Houlis.
Has Houlis become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Houlis went from 105 recorded bearers to 113. That is an increase of 8 (+7.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #154,907 to #147,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Houlis?
Among Census respondents with the surname Houlis, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%). 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 Houlis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.9% (105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Houlis appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.9%), Two or More Races (4.4%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%). 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 Houlis (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 Houlis mean?
A surname derived from the Greek island of Chios, likely referring to an ancestor from that region. 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 Houlis (0.04 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 Houlis?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.