2000
#67,725
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 272
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.10
Very Rare Last name
Hristov
A surname meaning "of or belonging to Christ" or "Christian".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 786 Americans carry the last name Hristov. That puts it at #35,388 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.23 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 436,074 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hristov 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Hristov with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
786
1 in 436,074
Census rank
#35,388
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
685
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 685 bearers of the surname Hristov in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.23 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 35388th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hristov, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (1.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hristov
The surname HRISTOV is of Bulgarian origin, originating in the medieval period between the 9th and 15th centuries. It is derived from the Slavic given name Hristo, itself derived from the Greek name Christos, meaning "anointed one" or "the Christ". The suffix "-ov" is a common Slavic patronymic, indicating "son of".
The earliest recorded instances of the HRISTOV surname can be found in historical documents and church records from the Second Bulgarian Empire, which ruled over much of the Balkans from the late 12th to the late 14th centuries. During this time, the name was particularly concentrated in the regions around the capital cities of Tarnovo and Vidin.
One notable early bearer of the HRISTOV name was Hristov Shishman, a nobleman and military commander who served under Tsar Ivan Shishman in the late 14th century. Shishman was a key figure in the Bulgarian resistance against the invading Ottoman Turks, before ultimately being captured and executed in 1395.
In the 15th and 16th centuries, the HRISTOV name spread throughout the Bulgarian territories under Ottoman rule, with pockets of the surname appearing in regions like Thrace, Macedonia, and the Rhodope Mountains. An early example from this period is Hristov Voyvoda, a rebel leader who fought against Ottoman oppression in the Chiprovtsi Uprising of 1688.
As Bulgarians began emigrating in larger numbers in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the HRISTOV name started to appear in communities across Europe and the Americas. One prominent bearer was Nikola Hristov Obretenov, a revolutionary and writer who was born in 1835 and played a key role in the struggle for Bulgarian independence from the Ottoman Empire.
Other notable figures with the HRISTOV surname include Dimitar Hristov (1875-1941), a Bulgarian politician and Prime Minister in the 1930s, and Krassimir Hristov (born 1964), a successful Bulgarian footballer who played for clubs like Sporting CP and represented his country at the 1994 World Cup.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hristov
Among Census respondents with the surname Hristov, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (1.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Hristov 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 Hristov surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.3% · 646
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 24
- Two or more races1.3% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 5
- Black or African American0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hristov
Hristov 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
#35,096
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 642
+370 bearers (+136.0%)
Per 100,000 0.22
Rank movement Up 32,629 places
2020
#35,388
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 685
+43 bearers (+6.7%)
Per 100,000 0.23
Rank movement Down 292 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #67,725 | 272 | 0.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #35,096 | 642 | 0.22 | +370 bearers (+136.0%) | Up 32,629 places |
| 2020 | #35,388 | 685 | 0.23 | +43 bearers (+6.7%) | Down 292 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 Hristov 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 | #35,096 | #35,388 | -0.8% |
| Count | 642 | 685 | 6.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.22 | 0.23 | 4.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hristov bearers went from 642 to 685 (+6.7% change). The surname moved down 292 positions in the national ranking, going from #35,096 to #35,388.
FAQ
Hristov surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hristov?
Name Census estimates that about 786 living Americans carry the surname Hristov. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 436,074 residents.
How common is Hristov?
Hristov ranks #35,388 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.23 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 685 people with the surname Hristov. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (786), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.23 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.23 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 Hristov.
Has Hristov become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hristov went from 642 recorded bearers to 685. That is an increase of 43 (+6.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #35,096 to #35,388.
What does the Census say about the background of Hristov?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hristov, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Two or More Races (1.3%). 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 Hristov in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.3% (646 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hristov appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.3%), Hispanic (3.5%), Two or More Races (1.3%). 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 Hristov (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 Hristov mean?
A surname meaning "of or belonging to Christ" or "Christian". 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 Hristov (0.23 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 last name Hristov?
Want to know how many people are called Hristov? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.