2000
#8,432
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,600
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.33
Rare Last name
Huhn
A German occupational surname referring to a hen keeper or chicken farmer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,118 Americans carry the last name Huhn. That puts it at #11,136 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.91 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 109,928 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Huhn 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
3.1K
1 in 109,928
Census rank
#11,136
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,719 bearers of the surname Huhn in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.91 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11136th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Huhn, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Huhn
The surname HUHN originated in Germany, with the earliest known records dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to be derived from the Middle High German word "huon," meaning "rooster" or "cock." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a nickname or occupational name for someone who raised or worked with chickens or roosters.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname HUHN can be found in the "Breviarium Eberhardi," a 13th-century manuscript from the Cistercian monastery of Eberbach in Germany. This document mentions a certain "Conradus dictus Huhn" (Conrad called Huhn) in the year 1264.
In the 16th century, the surname HUHN appeared in various town records and church registers across Germany. For example, a "Hans Huhn" was recorded in Rothenburg ob der Tauber in 1537, and a "Matthias Huhn" was mentioned in the church records of Nuremberg in 1586.
During the 17th century, the name HUHN was particularly prevalent in the regions of Saxony and Thuringia in central Germany. Notable individuals from this time period include Johann Georg Huhn (1592-1663), a Protestant theologian and author from Saxony, and Andreas Huhn (1629-1684), a German jurist and professor of law at the University of Leipzig.
In the 18th century, the HUHN surname spread to other parts of Europe, including the Netherlands and Poland. One notable bearer of the name was Jan Huhn (1733-1811), a Dutch painter and etcher known for his landscapes and cityscapes.
As the 19th century dawned, the HUHN name continued to be found across Germany and neighboring countries. Johann Friedrich August Huhn (1807-1877) was a German botanist and naturalist who made significant contributions to the study of plants and insects in Brazil. Another notable figure was Ernst Huhn (1833-1894), a German author and playwright from Silesia.
Throughout history, the surname HUHN has undergone various spelling variations, including Huehn, Hühn, and Huen. While the name is of German origin, it has also been adopted by families in other countries, reflecting the migration patterns of the past centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Huhn
Among Census respondents with the surname Huhn, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Huhn 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 Huhn surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.2% · 2,535
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 91
- Two or more races2.2% · 60
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 22
- Black or African American0.3% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Huhn
Huhn 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
#10,851
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,935
-665 bearers (-18.5%)
Per 100,000 0.99
Rank movement Down 2,419 places
2020
#11,136
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,719
-216 bearers (-7.4%)
Per 100,000 0.91
Rank movement Down 285 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,432 | 3,600 | 1.33 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,851 | 2,935 | 0.99 | -665 bearers (-18.5%) | Down 2,419 places |
| 2020 | #11,136 | 2,719 | 0.91 | -216 bearers (-7.4%) | Down 285 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 Huhn 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 | #10,851 | #11,136 | -2.6% |
| Count | 2,935 | 2,719 | -7.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.99 | 0.91 | -8.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Huhn bearers went from 2,935 to 2,719 (-7.4% change). The surname moved down 285 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,851 to #11,136.
FAQ
Huhn surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Huhn?
Name Census estimates that about 3,118 living Americans carry the surname Huhn. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 109,928 residents.
How common is Huhn?
Huhn ranks #11,136 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.91 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,719 people with the surname Huhn. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,118), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.91 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.91 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Huhn.
Has Huhn become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Huhn went from 2,935 recorded bearers to 2,719. That is a decrease of 216 (-7.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,851 to #11,136.
What does the Census say about the background of Huhn?
Among Census respondents with the surname Huhn, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Huhn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (2,535 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Huhn appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.2%), Hispanic (3.3%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Huhn (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 Huhn mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a hen keeper or chicken farmer. 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 Huhn (0.91 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 Huhn?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Huhn, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.