Find out how popular the last name Hovland is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Hovland.
A surname derived from a Norwegian village or farmstead name containing the element "hov" meaning "hill" or "knoll."
Hovland, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Hovland surname is from the 2010 census data.
Hovland is the 16975th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Hovland surname appeared 1,674 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Hovland.
We can also compare 2010 data for Hovland to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.
| 2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 16975 | 15963 | 6.14% |
| Count | 1,674 | 1,672 | 0.12% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.57 | 0.62 | -8.40% |
The surname HOVLAND originates from Norway and traces its roots back to the Viking Age, around the 8th to 11th centuries. It is believed to be derived from the Old Norse word "hov," which referred to a pagan temple or shrine, and "land," meaning land or territory. This suggests that the name may have initially been associated with individuals who lived near or were responsible for maintaining such religious sites.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name HOVLAND can be found in the Gulating Law, a Norwegian legal code dating back to the late 12th century. This ancient document mentions a person named Thorstein Hovland, indicating that the surname was already in use during that time period.
During the Middle Ages, the HOVLAND name appeared in various written records and manuscripts across Norway. For instance, a man named Bjorn Hovland was mentioned in a property deed from the year 1412 in the region of Hordaland.
In the 16th century, the HOVLAND surname gained prominence with the birth of Nils Hovland (1525-1591), a prominent Norwegian farmer and landowner. His descendants continued to use the surname, contributing to its spread throughout Norway.
Another notable individual with the HOVLAND surname was Hans Hovland (1695-1772), a Norwegian merchant and ship owner who played a significant role in the country's maritime trade during the 18th century.
As Norway's population began to migrate to other parts of the world, the HOVLAND surname traveled with them. One such example is Ingrid Hovland (1820-1892), a Norwegian-American immigrant who settled in Wisconsin and became a respected figure in her local community.
Throughout history, variations of the HOVLAND surname have emerged, including Hovlund, Hofland, and Hovaland, reflecting the fluidity of spellings and regional dialects in Norway.
While the HOVLAND name may have originated from a specific geographical location or association with pagan shrines, it eventually became a widespread surname across Norway and among Norwegian diaspora communities worldwide.
We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Hovland.
The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:
For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Hovland was:
| Race/Ethnicity | Percentage | Total Occurrences |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Hispanic White Only | 94.86% | 1,588 |
| Non-Hispanic Black Only | (S)% | (S) |
| Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only | 1.14% | 19 |
| Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native | (S)% | (S) |
| Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races | 1.91% | 32 |
| Hispanic Origin | 1.61% | 27 |
Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.
Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Hovland has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.
| 2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 94.86% | 96.41% | -1.62% |
| Black | (S)% | (S)% | (S)% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 1.14% | 0.78% | 37.50% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | (S)% | (S)% | (S)% |
| Two or More Races | 1.91% | 1.08% | 55.52% |
| Hispanic | 1.61% | 1.14% | 34.18% |
The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.
The history and meaning of the name Hovland was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.
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