2010
#150,452
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Neathawk
An Old English topographic surname denoting a settlement near a hawk's nest.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Neathawk. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Neathawk 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Neathawk in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Neathawk, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (11.7%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Neathawk
The surname Neathawk originated in England during the late medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "nead" meaning necessity or compulsion, and "hafoc" meaning hawk. This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who worked with or trained hawks, which were highly valued birds of prey used for hunting.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1221, where a Robert Nedhauek is mentioned. This spelling variation highlights the evolution of the name over time. Another early record is from the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, listing a Walter Neadhauk.
In the 14th century, the name appears in various manorial records, such as the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire, where a John Nedhawk is mentioned in 1317. This suggests that the family may have had some connections to the region.
During the 15th century, the name can be found in several tax records, including the Lay Subsidy Rolls for Staffordshire in 1445, which lists a Thomas Nedhawk. This indicates that the family had established itself in different parts of England by this time.
One notable figure with the surname Neathawk was Sir William Neathawk, a prominent landowner and member of the gentry in Warwickshire during the 16th century. He was born in 1532 and served as a Justice of the Peace for the county.
Another individual of note was Reverend John Neathawk, who lived from 1612 to 1685. He was a Puritan minister and author, known for his work "The Christian's Guide to Eternal Life" published in 1672.
In the 17th century, the Neathawk family appears to have had connections to the village of Nether Wallop in Hampshire. Parish records from the area mention several individuals with the surname, including a Richard Neathawk who was born in 1627.
By the 18th century, the name had spread to other parts of the country, with records showing Neathawks residing in areas such as Lincolnshire and Devon. One notable individual from this period was Captain James Neathawk, a naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763).
In the 19th century, the Neathawk name can be found in various census records and parish registers across England, indicating the family's continued presence in different regions of the country.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Neathawk
Among Census respondents with the surname Neathawk, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (11.7%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Neathawk 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 Neathawk surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.4% · 89
- Two or more races11.7% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Neathawk
Neathawk appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-6 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 3,730 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #150,452 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | -6 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 3,730 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 Neathawk 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 | #150,452 | #154,182 | -2.5% |
| Count | 109 | 103 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Neathawk bearers went from 109 to 103 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 3,730 positions in the national ranking, going from #150,452 to #154,182.
FAQ
Neathawk surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Neathawk?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Neathawk. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Neathawk?
Neathawk ranks #154,182 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 103 people with the surname Neathawk. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Neathawk.
Has Neathawk become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Neathawk went from 109 recorded bearers to 103. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #150,452 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Neathawk?
Among Census respondents with the surname Neathawk, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (11.7%) and Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Neathawk in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.4% (89 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Neathawk appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.4%), Two or More Races (11.7%), Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Neathawk (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 Neathawk mean?
An Old English topographic surname denoting a settlement near a hawk's nest. 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 Neathawk (0.03 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 Neathawk?
See how many people have the last name Neathawk on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.