2000
#131,366
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Howanitz
A surname indicating geographic origin from a place in Eastern Europe.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Howanitz. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Howanitz 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Howanitz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Howanitz, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.0%) and Two or More Races (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Howanitz
The surname HOWANITZ is of Slavic origin, believed to have originated in the region of Eastern Europe, specifically within the territories of modern-day Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus, during the early Middle Ages.
The name is thought to be derived from the Slavic root "hovan," which means "young man" or "youth." This root can be traced back to the Proto-Slavic word "khovati," meaning "to nurture" or "to raise." The suffix "-itz" or "-icz" is a common Slavic patronymic, indicating a familial relationship, suggesting that the name HOWANITZ may have originated as a reference to a person's lineage or to the son of someone named Hovan.
Historical records indicate that variations of the HOWANITZ surname appeared in several ancient manuscripts and chronicles from the region. One of the earliest known references can be found in the Galician-Volhynian Chronicle, a 13th-century manuscript documenting the history of the Principality of Galicia-Volhynia, where the name is mentioned as "Khovanits."
In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the HOWANITZ surname was Jan Howanitz, a prominent landowner and military commander from the Ruthenian nobility, who fought against the Ottoman Empire during the Moldavian Magnate Wars (1561-1572).
Another historical figure with this surname was Andriy Howanitz (1670-1738), a Ukrainian Orthodox priest and scholar who served as the rector of the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, one of the oldest and most prestigious educational institutions in Eastern Europe.
In the 19th century, the name HOWANITZ gained recognition through Maksym Howanitz (1801-1876), a Ukrainian writer, poet, and translator who played a pivotal role in the Ukrainian cultural renaissance during the Russian Empire's rule.
The HOWANITZ surname can also be traced to various place names in the region, such as the village of Hovanitsy in the Grodno Region of Belarus, which likely derived its name from the same Slavic root as the surname.
Throughout its history, the HOWANITZ surname has undergone various spelling variations, including Khovanits, Khovanetz, Khovanytch, and Khovanitsch, reflecting the linguistic and cultural diversity of the regions where it originated and evolved.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Howanitz
Among Census respondents with the surname Howanitz, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.0%) and Two or More Races (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Howanitz 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 Howanitz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.1% · 98
- Hispanic or Latino10.0% · 11
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Howanitz
Howanitz 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
#149,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-9 bearers (-7.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 18,029 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 51 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #131,366 | 119 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #149,395 | 110 | 0.04 | -9 bearers (-7.6%) | Down 18,029 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 51 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 Howanitz 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 | #149,395 | #149,446 | -0.0% |
| Count | 110 | 110 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Howanitz bearers went from 110 to 110 (+0.0% change). The surname moved down 51 positions in the national ranking, going from #149,395 to #149,446.
FAQ
Howanitz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Howanitz?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Howanitz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Howanitz?
Howanitz ranks #149,446 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 110 people with the surname Howanitz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), 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 Howanitz.
Has Howanitz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Howanitz went from 110 recorded bearers to 110. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #149,395 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Howanitz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Howanitz, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.0%) and Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Howanitz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.1% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Howanitz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.1%), Hispanic (10.0%), Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Howanitz (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 Howanitz mean?
A surname indicating geographic origin from a place in Eastern Europe. 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 Howanitz (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 Americans have the surname Howanitz?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.