2000
#1,671
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,637
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.28
Uncommon Last name
Hackett
An English occupational surname referring to a maker of hacks, or axes and other cutting tools.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 22,273 Americans carry the last name Hackett. That puts it at #1,812 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.50 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 15,389 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hackett 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 Hackett with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
22K
1 in 15,389
Census rank
#1,812
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
19K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 19,423 bearers of the surname Hackett in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.50 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1812th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hackett, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.5%. The next largest groups are Black (16.6%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hackett
The surname Hackett is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "haca" meaning a hack or hook. It is believed to have originated as an occupational surname for a maker or seller of hooks, hatchets, or other tools with a hooked blade.
The name Hackett can be traced back to the 12th century in the county of Lancashire, England. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Pipe Rolls of Worcestershire in 1198, where a person named Richard Hacket is mentioned.
In the 13th century, the surname Hackett is found in various records across England, such as the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, where a William Hacket is listed. The Domesday Book of 1086 does not contain any direct references to the surname Hackett, but it does mention the place name "Hacket" in Shropshire, which may have been derived from the same root word.
Notable individuals with the surname Hackett include John Hacket (1592-1670), an English bishop and author who served as the Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry. Another notable figure is James Keteltas Hackett (1869-1926), an American actor and playwright best known for his portrayal of the character Falstaff in Shakespeare's plays.
In the 16th century, the Hackett family held lands in Warwickshire and Staffordshire, and a coat of arms was granted to the Hackett family of Moseley, Worcestershire, in 1591. The blazon of this coat of arms includes three hatchets, a reference to the etymological origin of the name.
Other notable individuals with the surname Hackett include Sir John Waller Hackett (1848-1916), an English civil servant and writer, and Albert Hackett (1900-1995), an American playwright and screenwriter who co-wrote the screenplay for the classic film "The Diary of Anne Frank."
The surname Hackett has also been found in various spellings throughout history, such as Hacket, Haket, and Hackitt, reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hackett
Among Census respondents with the surname Hackett, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.5%. The next largest groups are Black (16.6%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Hackett 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 Hackett surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.5% · 14,471
- Black or African American16.6% · 3,221
- Two or more races4.2% · 813
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 695
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 152
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 71
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hackett
Hackett 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
#1,772
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,278
+641 bearers (+3.3%)
Per 100,000 6.87
Rank movement Down 101 places
2020
#1,812
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,423
-855 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 6.50
Rank movement Down 40 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,671 | 19,637 | 7.28 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,772 | 20,278 | 6.87 | +641 bearers (+3.3%) | Down 101 places |
| 2020 | #1,812 | 19,423 | 6.50 | -855 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 40 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 Hackett 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 | #1,772 | #1,812 | -2.3% |
| Count | 20,278 | 19,423 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 6.87 | 6.50 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hackett bearers went from 20,278 to 19,423 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 40 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,772 to #1,812.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hackett
FAQ
Hackett surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hackett?
Name Census estimates that about 22,273 living Americans carry the surname Hackett. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 15,389 residents.
How common is Hackett?
Hackett ranks #1,812 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.50 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 19,423 people with the surname Hackett. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (22,273), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.5 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.50 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Hackett.
Has Hackett become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hackett went from 20,278 recorded bearers to 19,423. That is a decrease of 855 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,772 to #1,812.
What does the Census say about the background of Hackett?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hackett, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.5%. The next largest groups are Black (16.6%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Hackett in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.5% (14,471 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hackett appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.5%), Black (16.6%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Hackett (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 Hackett mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a maker of hacks, or axes and other cutting tools. 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 Hackett (6.50 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 Hackett?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.