2000
#702
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 44,587
First available Census row
Per 100,000 16.53
Uncommon Last name
Hurst
An English toponymic surname referring to someone who lived near a wooded hill.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 51,302 Americans carry the last name Hurst. That puts it at #758 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 14.97 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 6,681 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hurst 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 Hurst with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
51K
1 in 6,681
Census rank
#758
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
15.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
45K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 44,738 bearers of the surname Hurst in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 14.97 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 758th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hurst, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.4%. The next largest groups are Black (10.4%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hurst
The surname Hurst has its origins in England and dates back to the 11th century. It is derived from the Old English word 'hyrst', meaning a wooded hill or a hillock. The name was likely given to someone who lived near a prominent wooded hill or a small forest.
One of the earliest records of the surname Hurst can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of landowners commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears as 'de Hurst', indicating that the person was from a place called Hurst.
In the 13th century, the name Hurst was frequently associated with various places in England, including Hurst in Berkshire, Hurst in Lancashire, and Hurst in Wiltshire. The spelling variations included Hirst, Hurst, and Hyrst.
One notable person with the surname Hurst was Sir John Hurst (1596-1667), an English politician and military commander who served as a Member of Parliament and fought in the English Civil War on the side of the Parliamentarians.
Another historical figure with this surname was Henry Hurst (1629-1690), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge from 1685 to 1689.
In the 18th century, Thomas Hurst (1737-1808) was a prominent English bookseller and publisher who worked in London's Paternoster Row, a center of the book trade at the time.
William Hurst (1789-1849) was an English engraver and painter who is known for his landscapes and topographical prints depicting various parts of England.
A more recent figure with the surname Hurst was Geoffrey Hurst (born 1941), an English professional football player who played as a striker and was a member of the England national team that won the 1966 FIFA World Cup.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hurst
Among Census respondents with the surname Hurst, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.4%. The next largest groups are Black (10.4%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Hurst 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 Hurst surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.4% · 36,396
- Black or African American10.4% · 4,641
- Two or more races4.0% · 1,808
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 1,399
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 263
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 231
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hurst
Hurst 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
#749
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 46,244
+1,657 bearers (+3.7%)
Per 100,000 15.68
Rank movement Down 47 places
2020
#758
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 44,738
-1,506 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 14.97
Rank movement Down 9 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #702 | 44,587 | 16.53 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #749 | 46,244 | 15.68 | +1,657 bearers (+3.7%) | Down 47 places |
| 2020 | #758 | 44,738 | 14.97 | -1,506 bearers (-3.3%) | Down 9 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 Hurst 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 | #749 | #758 | -1.2% |
| Count | 46,244 | 44,738 | -3.3% |
| Per 100K | 15.68 | 14.97 | -4.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hurst bearers went from 46,244 to 44,738 (-3.3% change). The surname moved down 9 positions in the national ranking, going from #749 to #758.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hurst
FAQ
Hurst surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hurst?
Name Census estimates that about 51,302 living Americans carry the surname Hurst. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 6,681 residents.
How common is Hurst?
Hurst ranks #758 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 14.97 per 100,000 residents, which is about 15 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 44,738 people with the surname Hurst. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (51,302), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 14.97 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 14.97 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 15 of them to have the surname Hurst.
Has Hurst become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hurst went from 46,244 recorded bearers to 44,738. That is a decrease of 1,506 (-3.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #749 to #758.
What does the Census say about the background of Hurst?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hurst, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.4%. The next largest groups are Black (10.4%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Hurst in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.4% (36,396 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hurst appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.4%), Black (10.4%), Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Hurst (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 Hurst mean?
An English toponymic surname referring to someone who lived near a wooded hill. 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 Hurst (14.97 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 have the surname Hurst?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.