2000
#6,949
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,450
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.65
Rare Last name
Hulett
Derived from a place name meaning "owl wood" or "owl glade" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,856 Americans carry the last name Hulett. That puts it at #7,565 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.42 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 70,584 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hulett 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 Hulett with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.9K
1 in 70,584
Census rank
#7,565
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,235 bearers of the surname Hulett in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.42 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7565th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hulett, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.4%. The next largest groups are Black (7.2%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hulett
The surname Hulett has its origins in England, dating back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English words "hol" meaning a hollow or small valley, and "geat" meaning a path or road. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a hollow or valley along a road or path.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273, where it appears as "de Holegate". This early spelling suggests the name may have initially referred to a place name before becoming a hereditary surname.
In the 14th century, the name evolved to spellings such as "Holgat" and "Holgate", as seen in records from Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. By the 15th century, the more modern spelling of "Hulett" had emerged, appearing in parish records from Suffolk and Norfolk.
The Hulett surname is also mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327, indicating the name's presence in different regions of England during the medieval period.
Notable individuals with the surname Hulett include:
1. John Hulett (c. 1591 - 1657), an English clergyman and author who served as the Rector of Bideford in Devon.
2. Richard Hulett (1670 - 1724), an English landowner and Member of Parliament for Wallingford in the early 18th century.
3. William Hulett (1805 - 1882), an English businessman and entrepreneur who founded the Hulett & Sons sugar refinery in Liverpool.
4. Mary Hulett (1846 - 1919), an American poet and author from Illinois, known for her works on nature and rural life.
5. Alfred Hulett (1839 - 1912), a British engineer and inventor who developed several important innovations in sugar refining machinery.
While the Hulett surname has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including North America, Australia, and New Zealand, often carried by descendants of English settlers and immigrants.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hulett
Among Census respondents with the surname Hulett, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.4%. The next largest groups are Black (7.2%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Hulett 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 Hulett surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.4% · 3,574
- Black or African American7.2% · 304
- Two or more races3.9% · 165
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 129
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 37
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 26
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hulett
Hulett 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
#7,184
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,652
+202 bearers (+4.5%)
Per 100,000 1.58
Rank movement Down 235 places
2020
#7,565
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,235
-417 bearers (-9.0%)
Per 100,000 1.42
Rank movement Down 381 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,949 | 4,450 | 1.65 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,184 | 4,652 | 1.58 | +202 bearers (+4.5%) | Down 235 places |
| 2020 | #7,565 | 4,235 | 1.42 | -417 bearers (-9.0%) | Down 381 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 Hulett 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 | #7,184 | #7,565 | -5.3% |
| Count | 4,652 | 4,235 | -9.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.58 | 1.42 | -10.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hulett bearers went from 4,652 to 4,235 (-9.0% change). The surname moved down 381 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,184 to #7,565.
FAQ
Hulett surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hulett?
Name Census estimates that about 4,856 living Americans carry the surname Hulett. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 70,584 residents.
How common is Hulett?
Hulett ranks #7,565 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.42 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 4,235 people with the surname Hulett. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,856), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.42 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.42 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 Hulett.
Has Hulett become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hulett went from 4,652 recorded bearers to 4,235. That is a decrease of 417 (-9.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,184 to #7,565.
What does the Census say about the background of Hulett?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hulett, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.4%. The next largest groups are Black (7.2%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Hulett in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.4% (3,574 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hulett appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.4%), Black (7.2%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Hulett (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 Hulett mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "owl wood" or "owl glade" in Old English. 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 Hulett (1.42 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 share the surname Hulett?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.