Hunner
An Old English masculine name derived from "huna" meaning bear cub.
Name Census estimates that about 424 living Americans carry the first name Hunner. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hunner today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hunner births was 2009 (32 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hunner. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
424
~ 1 in 808,383 Americans
Peak year
2009
32 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,263
Tracked since 1997
Census
Hunner in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 343 people with the first name Hunner, which placed it at #26,904 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#26,904
National first-name rank
People counted
343
343 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
89.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hunner
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hunner is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Hunner 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 name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Hunner at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.8% · 308
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 13
- Two or more races2.9% · 10
- Black or African American1.7% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 6
Popularity
Hunner: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hunner from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 190 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hunner by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Hunner during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hunners live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee recorded the most babies named Hunner, while Tennessee, Kentucky, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hunner
The name Hunner is believed to have originated in the Germanic language family, with its roots traced back to the Old High German word "hunno," which means "Hun" or "person from the Hunnic tribes." The Huns were a nomadic people who dominated parts of Europe and Asia during the 4th and 5th centuries.
The earliest recorded use of the name Hunner dates back to the 9th century, when it appeared in various Germanic texts and records. It is possible that the name was initially used to refer to individuals who had ancestral connections to the Hunnic tribes or those who exhibited characteristics associated with the Huns, such as bravery and fierceness in battle.
One of the most notable historical figures with the name Hunner was Hunner, a Frankish nobleman who lived in the 9th century. He played a significant role in the Carolingian dynasty and served as a trusted advisor to Charlemagne, the renowned king of the Franks.
Another prominent individual with the name Hunner was Hunner von Salzburg, a 12th-century bishop and prince of the Holy Roman Empire. He is remembered for his contributions to the construction of the Salzburg Cathedral and his efforts in promoting education and the arts.
In the 14th century, Hunner von Köln, a German merchant and trader, gained recognition for his successful business ventures and philanthropy. He founded several charitable institutions and supported the construction of churches and hospitals in the city of Cologne.
During the 16th century, Hunner von Weissenburg, a German military commander, earned a reputation for his strategic leadership and bravery in battles against the Ottoman Empire. He played a crucial role in defending the Holy Roman Empire's territories from Ottoman expansion.
In the realm of literature, Hunner von Aachen, a 13th-century German poet and lyricist, made significant contributions to the development of Middle High German poetry. His works, which often celebrated chivalry and courtly love, were widely popular among the nobility of the time.
These examples illustrate the historical presence and significance of the name Hunner across various fields, including nobility, religion, commerce, military, and literature, primarily within the Germanic cultural sphere.
People
Hunner + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hunner as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Hunner: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hunner?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 424 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hunner going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 808,383 US residents.
Is Hunner a common name?
We classify Hunner as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 428 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hunner most popular?
The single biggest year for Hunner was 2009, when 32 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hunner is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hunner in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 343 people with the name Hunner, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,904 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Hunner in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Hunner?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hunner leans strongly male. 320 people counted with this name were male (92.0%), compared with 28 female bearers (8.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Hunner?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hunner is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Hunner most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Hunner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (308 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Hunner in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hunner a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hunner in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Hunner still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hunner in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Hunner can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Hunner?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.