2000
#7,620
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,023
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.49
Rare Last name
Hackman
An occupational surname referring to someone who hacks or cuts wood, meat, or other materials.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,499 Americans carry the last name Hackman. That puts it at #8,089 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.31 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 76,185 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hackman 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 Hackman with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.5K
1 in 76,185
Census rank
#8,089
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,923 bearers of the surname Hackman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.31 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8089th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hackman, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Black (6.3%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hackman
The surname Hackman is believed to have originated in Germany and is derived from the Middle High German word "hacke," which means "hoe" or "pick." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as an occupational surname to someone who worked with a hoe or pick, likely in agriculture or mining.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany. It was sometimes spelled as "Hackmann" or "Hackemann" in old records and documents. One of the earliest known references to the name is found in the "Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus," a collection of historical documents from the former Principality of Anhalt, dating back to 1285.
In the 14th century, the name Hackman appeared in the "Liber Censuum" of the city of Nuremberg, which was a census record of the city's inhabitants. This suggests that families with this surname were present in the city during that time period.
One notable individual with the surname Hackman was Johannes Hackman, a German theologian and philosopher who lived from 1607 to 1659. He was a professor at the University of Helmstedt and wrote several works on theology and philosophy.
Another individual of historical significance was Johann Gottfried Hackman, a Finnish-Swedish military officer and nobleman who lived from 1753 to 1807. He was involved in the assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden in 1792, an event that became known as the "Murders at the Masquerade."
In the United Kingdom, the name Hackman can be traced back to the 16th century. One early record is of a William Hackman who was born in Staffordshire, England, in 1585.
The surname Hackman has also been associated with various place names in Germany, such as Hackmühlen, which means "hack mill" or "mill with a pick," and Hackenheim, which may have been derived from the word "hacke" and the suffix "-heim" meaning "home."
Over the centuries, the Hackman surname has spread to other parts of Europe and beyond, with individuals bearing this name making notable contributions in various fields, including science, literature, and the arts.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hackman
Among Census respondents with the surname Hackman, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Black (6.3%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Hackman 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 Hackman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.0% · 3,452
- Black or African American6.3% · 249
- Two or more races2.3% · 91
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 82
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 38
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hackman
Hackman 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
#7,801
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,242
+219 bearers (+5.4%)
Per 100,000 1.44
Rank movement Down 181 places
2020
#8,089
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,923
-319 bearers (-7.5%)
Per 100,000 1.31
Rank movement Down 288 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,620 | 4,023 | 1.49 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,801 | 4,242 | 1.44 | +219 bearers (+5.4%) | Down 181 places |
| 2020 | #8,089 | 3,923 | 1.31 | -319 bearers (-7.5%) | Down 288 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 Hackman 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 | #7,801 | #8,089 | -3.7% |
| Count | 4,242 | 3,923 | -7.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.44 | 1.31 | -8.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hackman bearers went from 4,242 to 3,923 (-7.5% change). The surname moved down 288 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,801 to #8,089.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hackman
FAQ
Hackman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hackman?
Name Census estimates that about 4,499 living Americans carry the surname Hackman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 76,185 residents.
How common is Hackman?
Hackman ranks #8,089 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.31 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,923 people with the surname Hackman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,499), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.31 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.31 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Hackman.
Has Hackman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hackman went from 4,242 recorded bearers to 3,923. That is a decrease of 319 (-7.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,801 to #8,089.
What does the Census say about the background of Hackman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hackman, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Black (6.3%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Hackman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.0% (3,452 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hackman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.0%), Black (6.3%), Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Hackman (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 Hackman mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who hacks or cuts wood, meat, or other materials. 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 Hackman (1.31 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 are called Hackman?
For a quick modern take, check how common the surname Hackman is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.