2000
#1,538
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,499
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.97
Uncommon Last name
Huggins
Derived from the medieval personal name "Hugg" or "Hugh," meaning "heart," "mind," or "spirit."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 24,457 Americans carry the last name Huggins. That puts it at #1,637 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.14 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 14,015 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Huggins 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 Huggins with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
24K
1 in 14,015
Census rank
#1,637
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
21K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 21,328 bearers of the surname Huggins in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.14 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1637th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Huggins, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.2%. The next largest groups are Black (26.5%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Huggins
The surname Huggins has its origins in England, dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to be a patronymic name derived from the Old English personal name "Hugging," which itself is a diminutive form of the name "Hugh." The name Hugh, in turn, comes from the Germanic name "Hugi," meaning "heart, mind, or soul."
Huggins is an anglicized version of the Norman French surname "Huguenin," which was brought to England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The name Huguenin was a diminutive form of the name "Hugues," the French equivalent of the English name "Hugh."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Huggins surname can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1191, where a person named William Hugenis is mentioned. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 also contain references to individuals with the surname Huggins or variations such as Hugyn and Hoggon.
In the 14th century, the Huggins surname appeared in various records across England, including the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379, which listed a John Hogon. The Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk from 1381 mentioned a William Hogon, and the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327 included a John Huggon.
Notable individuals with the surname Huggins throughout history include:
1. Sir William Huggins (1696-1761), an English merchant and Member of Parliament for Malmesbury from 1727 to 1761.
2. William Huggins (1824-1910), an English astronomer who pioneered the use of spectroscopy in astronomy and was a co-discoverer of the planet Uranus.
3. Margaret Lindsay Huggins (1848-1915), an Irish-English scientific investigator and the wife of William Huggins, who made significant contributions to the field of astrophysics.
4. Samuel Huggins (1811-1885), an English architect known for his designs of several churches and other buildings in Worcestershire.
5. David Huggins (born 1962), an American painter and alleged alien abductee, known for his paintings depicting his claimed encounters with extraterrestrials.
The surname Huggins has also been associated with various place names, such as Huggins Farm in Wiltshire and Huggins Mill in Virginia, USA, which may have derived their names from individuals bearing the Huggins surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Huggins
Among Census respondents with the surname Huggins, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.2%. The next largest groups are Black (26.5%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Huggins 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 Huggins surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.2% · 13,472
- Black or African American26.5% · 5,646
- Two or more races4.9% · 1,048
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 822
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 211
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 129
Timeline
Historical Census data for Huggins
Huggins 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
#1,602
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,371
+872 bearers (+4.1%)
Per 100,000 7.58
Rank movement Down 64 places
2020
#1,637
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,328
-1,043 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 7.14
Rank movement Down 35 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,538 | 21,499 | 7.97 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,602 | 22,371 | 7.58 | +872 bearers (+4.1%) | Down 64 places |
| 2020 | #1,637 | 21,328 | 7.14 | -1,043 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 35 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 Huggins 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 | #1,602 | #1,637 | -2.2% |
| Count | 22,371 | 21,328 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 7.58 | 7.14 | -5.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Huggins bearers went from 22,371 to 21,328 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 35 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,602 to #1,637.
FAQ
Huggins surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Huggins?
Name Census estimates that about 24,457 living Americans carry the surname Huggins. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 14,015 residents.
How common is Huggins?
Huggins ranks #1,637 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.14 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 21,328 people with the surname Huggins. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (24,457), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.14 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.14 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Huggins.
Has Huggins become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Huggins went from 22,371 recorded bearers to 21,328. That is a decrease of 1,043 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,602 to #1,637.
What does the Census say about the background of Huggins?
Among Census respondents with the surname Huggins, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.2%. The next largest groups are Black (26.5%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Huggins in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.2% (13,472 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Huggins appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (63.2%), Black (26.5%), Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Huggins (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 Huggins mean?
Derived from the medieval personal name "Hugg" or "Hugh," meaning "heart," "mind," or "spirit." 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 Huggins (7.14 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 Huggins?
Want to know how many people have the last name Huggins? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.