2000
#11,517
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,507
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.93
Rare Last name
Hunsucker
Derived from the German surname Hundsacker, referring to someone who lived near a dog kennel or worked with dogs.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,616 Americans carry the last name Hunsucker. That puts it at #12,890 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 131,022 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hunsucker 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
2.6K
1 in 131,022
Census rank
#12,890
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,281 bearers of the surname Hunsucker in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12890th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hunsucker, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hunsucker
The surname Hunsucker is of German origin, tracing its roots back to the 16th century in the region of Bavaria. It is believed to have derived from the German word "Hunsrucker," which refers to a person from the Hunsrück, a low mountain range in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
One of the earliest records of the surname Hunsucker can be found in the baptismal records of the town of Kaiserslautern, dating back to the late 1500s. This indicates that the name was in use during this time period in the region.
In the 17th century, the Hunsucker name began to spread beyond the Hunsrück region as families migrated to other parts of Germany and eventually to other parts of Europe and the Americas. One notable individual from this era was Hans Hunsucker, a merchant from Mainz, Germany, who lived from 1625 to 1693.
As the Hunsucker surname traveled with German immigrants to the American colonies in the 18th and 19th centuries, it underwent various spelling variations, including Hunsecker, Huntsecker, and Huntzecker. One of the earliest recorded Hunsuckers in America was Johann Hunsucker, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1754 from the Palatinate region of Germany.
In the 19th century, several individuals with the Hunsucker surname made notable contributions. Friedrich Hunsucker (1805-1878) was a German-American author and educator who established several schools in Ohio. Johann Hunsucker (1820-1901) was a prominent farmer and landowner in Pennsylvania.
Other notable Hunsuckers include the artist and illustrator Carl Hunsucker (1871-1945), who was active in the early 20th century, and the American lawyer and politician Horace Hunsucker (1883-1964), who served as a state representative in North Carolina.
Throughout its history, the Hunsucker surname has maintained a strong connection to its German roots, even as it has spread across the globe. While variations in spelling have occurred, the core meaning and origin of the name remain tied to the Hunsrück region of Germany.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hunsucker
Among Census respondents with the surname Hunsucker, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Hunsucker 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 Hunsucker surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.8% · 2,071
- Two or more races3.5% · 80
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 40
- Black or African American1.4% · 33
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 31
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 26
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hunsucker
Hunsucker 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
#12,279
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,532
+25 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.86
Rank movement Down 762 places
2020
#12,890
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,281
-251 bearers (-9.9%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Down 611 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,517 | 2,507 | 0.93 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,279 | 2,532 | 0.86 | +25 bearers (+1.0%) | Down 762 places |
| 2020 | #12,890 | 2,281 | 0.76 | -251 bearers (-9.9%) | Down 611 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 Hunsucker 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 | #12,279 | #12,890 | -5.0% |
| Count | 2,532 | 2,281 | -9.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.86 | 0.76 | -11.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hunsucker bearers went from 2,532 to 2,281 (-9.9% change). The surname moved down 611 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,279 to #12,890.
FAQ
Hunsucker surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hunsucker?
Name Census estimates that about 2,616 living Americans carry the surname Hunsucker. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 131,022 residents.
How common is Hunsucker?
Hunsucker ranks #12,890 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.76 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 2,281 people with the surname Hunsucker. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,616), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.76 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 Hunsucker.
Has Hunsucker become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hunsucker went from 2,532 recorded bearers to 2,281. That is a decrease of 251 (-9.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,279 to #12,890.
What does the Census say about the background of Hunsucker?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hunsucker, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (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 Hunsucker in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.8% (2,071 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hunsucker appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.8%), Two or More Races (3.5%), Hispanic (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 Hunsucker (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 Hunsucker mean?
Derived from the German surname Hundsacker, referring to someone who lived near a dog kennel or worked with dogs. 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 Hunsucker (0.76 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 Hunsucker?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.