2000
#149,328
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Hoyett
A variant spelling of the English surname Howitt, derived from a nickname for a little owl or an occupational name for someone who caught owls.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Hoyett. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hoyett 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Hoyett in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoyett, the largest self-reported group is Black at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hoyett
The surname HOYETT is of English origin, first appearing in historical records during the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "hogh," meaning a hill or ridge, and the suffix "ett," indicating a diminutive or small version. As such, HOYETT likely referred to someone who lived near a small hill or ridge.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name HOYETT can be found in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Thaxted, Essex, England, where a John HOYETT was christened in 1587. This suggests the name was prevalent in the Essex region during the late 16th century.
In the 17th century, the HOYETT surname appeared in various legal documents and property records across England. For instance, a William HOYETT is mentioned in the Suffolk Hearth Tax returns of 1674, indicating he was a landowner or tenant in that county at the time.
Notable individuals with the HOYETT surname include Robert HOYETT (1642-1718), an English merchant and landowner from Hertfordshire. His son, also named Robert HOYETT (1676-1743), was a renowned scholar and translator of classical Greek texts.
Another prominent figure was Elizabeth HOYETT (1712-1789), a philanthropist from Yorkshire who founded several schools and charitable organizations in her hometown of Hull. Her legacy lived on through the HOYETT Trust, which supported education and social welfare initiatives until its dissolution in the 1960s.
In the 19th century, the HOYETT name gained further recognition with the work of Arthur HOYETT (1824-1901), a celebrated architect who designed several iconic buildings in London, including the Royal Albert Hall and the Natural History Museum.
While initially concentrated in England, the HOYETT surname began to spread to other parts of the British Isles and beyond during the 18th and 19th centuries. This was likely due to increased mobility and emigration during the Industrial Revolution and the expansion of the British Empire.
One notable example is James HOYETT (1789-1865), an Irish-born soldier who served in the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars and later settled in Canada, where he became a respected community leader and landowner in the province of Ontario.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hoyett
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoyett, the largest self-reported group is Black at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Hoyett 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 Hoyett surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American92.2% · 106
- Two or more races3.5% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.6% · 3
- White1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hoyett
Hoyett 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
#143,149
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+15 bearers (+14.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 6,179 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-1 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,608 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #149,328 | 101 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #143,149 | 116 | 0.04 | +15 bearers (+14.9%) | Up 6,179 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 2,608 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 Hoyett 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 | #143,149 | #145,757 | -1.8% |
| Count | 116 | 115 | -0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hoyett bearers went from 116 to 115 (-0.9% change). The surname moved down 2,608 positions in the national ranking, going from #143,149 to #145,757.
FAQ
Hoyett surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hoyett?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Hoyett. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Hoyett?
Hoyett ranks #145,757 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 115 people with the surname Hoyett. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), 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 Hoyett.
Has Hoyett become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hoyett went from 116 recorded bearers to 115. That is a decrease of 1 (-0.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #143,149 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Hoyett?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoyett, the largest self-reported group is Black at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.6%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Hoyett in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hoyett appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (92.2%), Two or More Races (3.5%), American Indian/Alaska Native (2.6%). 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 Hoyett (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 Hoyett mean?
A variant spelling of the English surname Howitt, derived from a nickname for a little owl or an occupational name for someone who caught owls. 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 Hoyett (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 are called Hoyett?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Hoyett, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.