2000
#8,626
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,510
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.30
Rare Last name
Hummer
An occupational surname for someone who breeds roosters or operates a rooster fight.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,559 Americans carry the last name Hummer. That puts it at #9,930 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 96,306 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hummer 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
3.6K
1 in 96,306
Census rank
#9,930
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,104 bearers of the surname Hummer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9930th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hummer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hummer
The surname Hummer is of Germanic origin and can be traced back to the 12th century in the regions of present-day Germany and the Netherlands. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "hummer," which referred to a type of freshwater crayfish or lobster-like creature.
In the Middle Ages, surnames were often adopted based on occupations, physical characteristics, or locations. It is possible that the name Hummer was initially given as a nickname to someone who caught or traded in these crustaceans, or perhaps to someone who had a resemblance to them.
One of the earliest known records of the name appears in the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a collection of documents from the Principality of Anhalt, dated around 1200. The entry mentions a person named "Hummere" in relation to a land transaction.
By the 14th century, the name had spread across various regions of Germany and the Low Countries, appearing in various spellings such as Hummer, Hummere, and Hummerding. In the city of Bremen, there is a record of a merchant named Hans Hummer who was a member of the guild of seafarers in the late 1400s.
Notable individuals bearing the Hummer surname include:
1. Christoph Hummer (1501-1572), a German theologian and reformer who was a prominent figure in the Protestant Reformation.
2. Johann Hummer (1647-1714), a German composer and organist active in the Baroque period.
3. Philipp Ferdinand Hummer (1763-1834), an Austrian painter and engraver known for his landscapes and architectural works.
4. Theodor Hummer (1810-1886), a German-born American architect who designed numerous buildings in St. Louis, Missouri.
5. Wilhelm Hummer (1865-1949), a German geologist and paleontologist who made significant contributions to the study of fossil plants and invertebrates.
Additionally, there are several place names in Germany that may have derived from or influenced the surname Hummer, such as Hummerfeld, Hummersdorf, and Hummerstein, though their exact connections to the name are unclear.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hummer
Among Census respondents with the surname Hummer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Hummer 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 Hummer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.2% · 2,892
- Two or more races3.1% · 96
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 74
- Black or African American0.7% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hummer
Hummer 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
#10,064
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,203
-307 bearers (-8.7%)
Per 100,000 1.09
Rank movement Down 1,438 places
2020
#9,930
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,104
-99 bearers (-3.1%)
Per 100,000 1.04
Rank movement Up 134 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,626 | 3,510 | 1.30 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,064 | 3,203 | 1.09 | -307 bearers (-8.7%) | Down 1,438 places |
| 2020 | #9,930 | 3,104 | 1.04 | -99 bearers (-3.1%) | Up 134 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 Hummer 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 | #10,064 | #9,930 | 1.3% |
| Count | 3,203 | 3,104 | -3.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.09 | 1.04 | -4.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hummer bearers went from 3,203 to 3,104 (-3.1% change). The surname moved up 134 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,064 to #9,930.
FAQ
Hummer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hummer?
Name Census estimates that about 3,559 living Americans carry the surname Hummer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 96,306 residents.
How common is Hummer?
Hummer ranks #9,930 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.04 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 3,104 people with the surname Hummer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,559), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.04 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 Hummer.
Has Hummer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hummer went from 3,203 recorded bearers to 3,104. That is a decrease of 99 (-3.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,064 to #9,930.
What does the Census say about the background of Hummer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hummer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Hummer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (2,892 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hummer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.2%), Two or More Races (3.1%), Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Hummer (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 Hummer mean?
An occupational surname for someone who breeds roosters or operates a rooster fight. 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 Hummer (1.04 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 Hummer?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.