2000
#10,018
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,968
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.10
Rare Last name
Hunsinger
Derived from a German place name, likely referring to someone from a town called Hunsingen or Hunsingore.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,000 Americans carry the last name Hunsinger. That puts it at #11,506 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 114,251 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hunsinger 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
3.0K
1 in 114,251
Census rank
#11,506
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,616 bearers of the surname Hunsinger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11506th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hunsinger, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hunsinger
The surname Hunsinger has its origins traced back to Germany, where it first emerged in the 13th century. The name is believed to be derived from the Old German words "hun" meaning "high" and "singer" referring to a singer or minstrel. This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with individuals who were known for their musical talents or performances.
The earliest recorded instances of the Hunsinger surname can be found in medieval German records and documents, particularly in regions such as Bavaria and Saxony. One notable example is a mention of a Hans Hunsinger in a 14th-century manuscript from the town of Nuremberg, where he is listed as a court musician.
In the 15th and 16th centuries, the name began to spread across other parts of Europe, including Switzerland and Austria. During this period, variations in spelling also emerged, such as Huntzinger, Hunzinger, and Hünzinger, reflecting regional dialects and linguistic differences.
One of the earliest known Hunsingers was Johann Hunsinger, a German composer and organist who lived in the late 16th century and served as the court musician for the Elector of Saxony. His compositions and works have been preserved and studied by musicologists over the centuries.
Another notable figure was Hans Hunsinger, a Swiss clockmaker born in 1642 in Basel. He is renowned for his intricate and innovative clock designs, some of which can still be found in museums and collections across Europe.
In the 18th century, the name Hunsinger appeared in various records and documents in the United States, indicating that individuals with this surname had immigrated to the Americas from Germany and other parts of Europe. One such example is Peter Hunsinger, a German immigrant who settled in Pennsylvania in the early 1700s and became a prominent farmer and landowner.
Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Hunsinger name continued to be associated with individuals of German descent, both in Europe and in the Americas. Some notable figures from this period include:
1. Wilhelm Hunsinger (1830-1905), a German-born American businessman and philanthropist who made significant contributions to educational institutions in Pennsylvania.
2. Anna Hunsinger (1856-1932), a Swiss artist and painter known for her landscapes and portraits.
3. Friedrich Hunsinger (1879-1947), a German writer and journalist who chronicled the cultural and political changes in Germany during the early 20th century.
4. Ernst Hunsinger (1892-1968), a German-American architect and designer who played a significant role in the development of modernist architecture in the United States.
5. Gertrude Hunsinger (1906-1992), an American educator and advocate for women's rights, who worked tirelessly to promote gender equality in education and the workforce.
These individuals, along with many others, have contributed to the rich tapestry of the Hunsinger surname, reflecting its diverse historical roots and cultural significance across various fields and regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hunsinger
Among Census respondents with the surname Hunsinger, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Hunsinger 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 Hunsinger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.6% · 2,422
- Two or more races4.1% · 108
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 67
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 8
- Black or African American0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hunsinger
Hunsinger 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
#10,200
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,158
+190 bearers (+6.4%)
Per 100,000 1.07
Rank movement Down 182 places
2020
#11,506
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,616
-542 bearers (-17.2%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Down 1,306 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,018 | 2,968 | 1.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,200 | 3,158 | 1.07 | +190 bearers (+6.4%) | Down 182 places |
| 2020 | #11,506 | 2,616 | 0.88 | -542 bearers (-17.2%) | Down 1,306 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 Hunsinger 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 | #10,200 | #11,506 | -12.8% |
| Count | 3,158 | 2,616 | -17.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.07 | 0.88 | -18.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hunsinger bearers went from 3,158 to 2,616 (-17.2% change). The surname moved down 1,306 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,200 to #11,506.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hunsinger
FAQ
Hunsinger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hunsinger?
Name Census estimates that about 3,000 living Americans carry the surname Hunsinger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 114,251 residents.
How common is Hunsinger?
Hunsinger ranks #11,506 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.88 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 2,616 people with the surname Hunsinger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,000), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.88 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 Hunsinger.
Has Hunsinger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hunsinger went from 3,158 recorded bearers to 2,616. That is a decrease of 542 (-17.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,200 to #11,506.
What does the Census say about the background of Hunsinger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hunsinger, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Hunsinger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.6% (2,422 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hunsinger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.6%), Two or More Races (4.1%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Hunsinger (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 Hunsinger mean?
Derived from a German place name, likely referring to someone from a town called Hunsingen or Hunsingore. 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 Hunsinger (0.88 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 are called Hunsinger?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Hunsinger at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.