2000
#3,988
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,174
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.03
Rare Last name
Hutcheson
Son of Hutchie, a diminutive of Hugh, meaning "heart, mind, or spirit."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,930 Americans carry the last name Hutcheson. That puts it at #4,417 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 38,382 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hutcheson 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 Hutcheson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.9K
1 in 38,382
Census rank
#4,417
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,787 bearers of the surname Hutcheson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4417th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hutcheson, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Black (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hutcheson
The surname HUTCHESON is of Scottish origin, and its earliest recorded use dates back to the 13th century. The name is derived from the Old English words "hoh" meaning heel and "tun" meaning farm or settlement, suggesting that the name originally referred to someone who lived near a heel-shaped hill or promontory.
The name is thought to have originated in the Scottish Lowlands, particularly in the areas around the counties of Ayrshire and Lanarkshire. It is believed that the earliest bearers of the name were landowners or farmers who settled in these regions during the medieval period.
One of the earliest known references to the name HUTCHESON can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which were a series of homage rolls recording the names of Scottish nobles and landowners who swore fealty to King Edward I of England during the Wars of Scottish Independence. The name is recorded as "Hutchinson" in these rolls, which suggests that the spelling of the name may have varied over time.
In the 15th century, a branch of the HUTCHESON family is recorded as having settled in the city of Glasgow, where they became prominent merchants and burgesses. One notable member of this family was Thomas HUTCHESON, who was a wealthy merchant and benefactor in Glasgow during the late 16th century. He founded the Hutchesons' Hospital in 1641, which was originally a school and almshouse for poor children and the elderly.
Another notable bearer of the HUTCHESON surname was Francis HUTCHESON, a philosopher and moral theorist who lived from 1694 to 1746. He was born in Ireland but his family was of Scottish descent, and he is considered one of the founders of the Scottish Enlightenment movement.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the HUTCHESON name began to spread beyond Scotland as individuals bearing the name emigrated to other parts of the British Isles and eventually to North America. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in America is that of John HUTCHESON, who was born in Scotland in 1726 and later settled in Virginia.
Other notable individuals with the HUTCHESON surname include:
1. George HUTCHESON (1828-1913), a Canadian politician and businessman from Ontario.
2. Joseph Chrisman HUTCHESON (1819-1912), an American lawyer and judge who served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
3. William HUTCHESON (1874-1948), an American labor leader who served as the president of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America from 1915 to 1948.
4. Archibald HUTCHESON (1659-1740), a Scottish mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of calculus and celestial mechanics.
Overall, the surname HUTCHESON has a long and rich history, with its origins tracing back to medieval Scotland and its bearers playing significant roles in various fields throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hutcheson
Among Census respondents with the surname Hutcheson, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Black (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Hutcheson 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 Hutcheson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.0% · 6,927
- Two or more races3.6% · 284
- Black or African American3.5% · 271
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 229
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 52
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 24
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hutcheson
Hutcheson 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
#4,266
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,321
+147 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 2.82
Rank movement Down 278 places
2020
#4,417
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,787
-534 bearers (-6.4%)
Per 100,000 2.61
Rank movement Down 151 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,988 | 8,174 | 3.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,266 | 8,321 | 2.82 | +147 bearers (+1.8%) | Down 278 places |
| 2020 | #4,417 | 7,787 | 2.61 | -534 bearers (-6.4%) | Down 151 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 Hutcheson 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 | #4,266 | #4,417 | -3.5% |
| Count | 8,321 | 7,787 | -6.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.82 | 2.61 | -7.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hutcheson bearers went from 8,321 to 7,787 (-6.4% change). The surname moved down 151 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,266 to #4,417.
FAQ
Hutcheson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hutcheson?
Name Census estimates that about 8,930 living Americans carry the surname Hutcheson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 38,382 residents.
How common is Hutcheson?
Hutcheson ranks #4,417 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.61 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,787 people with the surname Hutcheson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,930), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.61 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Hutcheson.
Has Hutcheson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hutcheson went from 8,321 recorded bearers to 7,787. That is a decrease of 534 (-6.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,266 to #4,417.
What does the Census say about the background of Hutcheson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hutcheson, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Black (3.5%). 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 Hutcheson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.0% (6,927 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hutcheson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.0%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Black (3.5%). 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 Hutcheson (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 Hutcheson mean?
Son of Hutchie, a diminutive of Hugh, meaning "heart, mind, or spirit." 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 Hutcheson (2.61 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 common is the surname Hutcheson?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Hutcheson on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.