2000
#138,741
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Hulver
A variant of the surname Culver, derived from a place name meaning "ridge of land".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Hulver. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hulver 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
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Hulver in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hulver, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hulver
The surname Hulver has its origins in England, with records dating back to the late 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "hol" and "ofer," which together mean "a hollow or depression near a river bank." This suggests that the earliest bearers of the name may have lived near such a geographical feature.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, which lists a John de Holovre residing in Gloucestershire. This spelling variation likely evolved over time to become the modern-day Hulver. The Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1327 also mention a Thomas Holover from Oxfordshire, further indicating the name's presence in different parts of England during that era.
During the medieval period, surnames often originated from the location where a person lived or from a distinctive feature of the landscape near their dwelling. The name Hulver may have been derived from a specific place name, such as Holover or Holovre, which no longer exists or has been altered over the centuries.
Notable individuals with the surname Hulver include:
1. William Hulver (c. 1520 - 1598), an English landowner and member of Parliament representing Gloucestershire in 1562.
2. Thomas Hulver (1685 - 1743), a renowned clockmaker from London whose work is still highly sought after by collectors.
3. Elizabeth Hulver (1722 - 1803), a British botanist and one of the first women to be elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society.
4. James Hulver (1789 - 1865), an English explorer who accompanied Sir John Franklin on his ill-fated expedition to the Arctic in 1845.
5. Margaret Hulver (1862 - 1947), a philanthropist and social reformer known for her work in improving the living conditions of the working class in Manchester.
While the surname Hulver may not be as common today as it once was, its history can be traced back to the medieval period in England, where it likely originated from a place name or geographical feature near the dwellings of its earliest bearers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hulver
Among Census respondents with the surname Hulver, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Hulver 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 Hulver surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.0% · 106
- Two or more races5.3% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hulver
Hulver 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
#135,593
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124
+13 bearers (+11.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 3,148 places
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
-10 bearers (-8.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,902 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #138,741 | 111 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #135,593 | 124 | 0.04 | +13 bearers (+11.7%) | Up 3,148 places |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-8.1%) | Down 10,902 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 Hulver 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 | #135,593 | #146,495 | -8.0% |
| Count | 124 | 114 | -8.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hulver bearers went from 124 to 114 (-8.1% change). The surname moved down 10,902 positions in the national ranking, going from #135,593 to #146,495.
FAQ
Hulver surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hulver?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Hulver. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Hulver?
Hulver ranks #146,495 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 114 people with the surname Hulver. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), 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 Hulver.
Has Hulver become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hulver went from 124 recorded bearers to 114. That is a decrease of 10 (-8.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #135,593 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Hulver?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hulver, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%). 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 Hulver in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hulver appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.0%), Two or More Races (5.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%). 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 Hulver (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 Hulver mean?
A variant of the surname Culver, derived from a place name meaning "ridge of land". 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 Hulver (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 Americans have the surname Hulver?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.