2000
#1,183
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 27,201
First available Census row
Per 100,000 10.08
Uncommon Last name
Hastings
Derived from a place name meaning "Hæsta's people," referring to a settlement associated with a person named Hæsta.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 30,850 Americans carry the last name Hastings. That puts it at #1,279 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 9.00 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 11,110 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hastings 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 Hastings with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
31K
1 in 11,110
Census rank
#1,279
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
9.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
27K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 26,903 bearers of the surname Hastings in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 9.00 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1279th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hastings, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.7%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Hispanic (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hastings
The surname Hastings is of Anglo-Saxon origin, derived from the town of Hastings in East Sussex, England. The name can be traced back to the 11th century and the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.
Hastings was originally a Saxon settlement known as Hastingaceaster or Hastingacaestra, meaning "the castle or fort of Hastings." The name likely referred to a fortified settlement established by a Saxon leader named Hæsta or Hæsting.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Hastings appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of land ownership and taxation initiated by William the Conqueror. The book mentions a landowner named Ralph de Hastings, who held substantial estates in Yorkshire and Leicestershire.
In the 12th century, a prominent figure named Henry de Hastings (c. 1130-1195) served as Sheriff of Yorkshire and Constable of Richmond Castle. He was a loyal supporter of King Henry II and played a significant role in the suppression of the Great Revolt of 1173-1174.
During the 13th century, Sir Henry Hastings (c. 1235-1269) was a notable English knight who accompanied King Edward I on the Eighth Crusade to the Holy Land. He died in Acre, Palestine, during the crusade.
The Hastings family continued to rise in prominence, and in the 14th century, Sir John Hastings (c. 1347-1389) served as a military commander and diplomat under King Edward III. He was appointed Earl of Pembroke in 1368 and participated in several military campaigns against France during the Hundred Years' War.
Another notable figure was Sir William Hastings (c. 1431-1483), who served as Lord Chamberlain to King Edward IV. He was a loyal supporter of the House of York during the Wars of the Roses and played a crucial role in the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471. However, he was later executed by King Richard III, marking a tragic end to his influential career.
Throughout the centuries, the Hastings surname has been associated with various place names and localities in England, such as Hastings in East Sussex, Hastings in Northamptonshire, and Hastings in Worcestershire. The name has also been recorded with slight variations in spelling, such as Hastyngs, Hastinges, and Hastingis.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hastings
Among Census respondents with the surname Hastings, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.7%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Hispanic (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Hastings 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 Hastings surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.7% · 23,056
- Black or African American5.0% · 1,350
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 1,061
- Two or more races3.7% · 1,007
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 228
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 201
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hastings
Hastings 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
#1,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 28,015
+814 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 9.50
Rank movement Down 70 places
2020
#1,279
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 26,903
-1,112 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 9.00
Rank movement Down 26 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,183 | 27,201 | 10.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,253 | 28,015 | 9.50 | +814 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 70 places |
| 2020 | #1,279 | 26,903 | 9.00 | -1,112 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 26 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 Hastings 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 | #1,253 | #1,279 | -2.1% |
| Count | 28,015 | 26,903 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 9.50 | 9.00 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hastings bearers went from 28,015 to 26,903 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 26 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,253 to #1,279.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hastings
FAQ
Hastings surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hastings?
Name Census estimates that about 30,850 living Americans carry the surname Hastings. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 11,110 residents.
How common is Hastings?
Hastings ranks #1,279 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 9.00 per 100,000 residents, which is about 9 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 26,903 people with the surname Hastings. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (30,850), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 9 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 9.00 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 9 of them to have the surname Hastings.
Has Hastings become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hastings went from 28,015 recorded bearers to 26,903. That is a decrease of 1,112 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,253 to #1,279.
What does the Census say about the background of Hastings?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hastings, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.7%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Hastings in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.7% (23,056 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hastings appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.7%), Black (5.0%), Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Hastings (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 Hastings mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "Hæsta's people," referring to a settlement associated with a person named Hæsta. 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 Hastings (9.00 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 have the last name Hastings?
You can see how many people have the last name Hastings on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.