2000
#10,258
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,880
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.07
Rare Last name
Hauer
A German occupational surname referring to a person who hewed or cut wood or stone.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,243 Americans carry the last name Hauer. That puts it at #10,779 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.95 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 105,691 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hauer 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
3.2K
1 in 105,691
Census rank
#10,779
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,828 bearers of the surname Hauer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.95 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10779th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hauer, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Black (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hauer
The surname HAUER originated in Germany during the medieval period. It is derived from the German word "hauen," which means "to hew" or "to cut." This suggests that the name may have been an occupational name referring to someone who worked as a woodcutter or lumberjack.
The earliest known record of the name HAUER appears in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, dating back to the 13th century. In this document, a person named "Cunradus dictus Houwer" is mentioned, which translates to "Conrad known as Houwer" (an earlier spelling of HAUER).
Another historical reference to the name HAUER can be found in the Bürgeraufnahmen, a registry of citizens in the city of Nuremberg, Germany. In 1397, a man named "Hans Hauer" is listed as a citizen of the city.
One of the earliest known bearers of the HAUER surname was Johannes Hauer, a German mathematician and astronomer born in 1492 in Nuremberg. He is best known for his work on lunar and planetary observations.
In the 16th century, a prominent figure with the surname HAUER was Hans Hauer, a German sculptor who lived from 1520 to 1580. He was known for his intricate woodcarvings and contributed to the decoration of several churches in Germany.
Another notable person with the HAUER surname was Johann Georg Hauer, a German composer and organist who lived from 1659 to 1735. He is known for his compositions for organ and church music.
The name HAUER has also been associated with various places in Germany, such as Hauerbach, a small town in Bavaria, and Hauerberg, a mountain in the Black Forest region.
While the surname HAUER is primarily of German origin, it has also been found in other countries, possibly due to migration or variations in spelling. However, the core meaning and historical roots of the name can be traced back to its German heritage and the occupation of woodcutting or lumberjacking.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hauer
Among Census respondents with the surname Hauer, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Black (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Hauer 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 Hauer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.4% · 2,585
- Black or African American3.0% · 84
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 65
- Two or more races2.3% · 64
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hauer
Hauer 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
#10,332
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,118
+238 bearers (+8.3%)
Per 100,000 1.06
Rank movement Down 74 places
2020
#10,779
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,828
-290 bearers (-9.3%)
Per 100,000 0.95
Rank movement Down 447 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,258 | 2,880 | 1.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,332 | 3,118 | 1.06 | +238 bearers (+8.3%) | Down 74 places |
| 2020 | #10,779 | 2,828 | 0.95 | -290 bearers (-9.3%) | Down 447 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 Hauer 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 | #10,332 | #10,779 | -4.3% |
| Count | 3,118 | 2,828 | -9.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.06 | 0.95 | -10.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hauer bearers went from 3,118 to 2,828 (-9.3% change). The surname moved down 447 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,332 to #10,779.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hauer
FAQ
Hauer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hauer?
Name Census estimates that about 3,243 living Americans carry the surname Hauer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 105,691 residents.
How common is Hauer?
Hauer ranks #10,779 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.95 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 2,828 people with the surname Hauer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,243), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.95 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.95 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 Hauer.
Has Hauer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hauer went from 3,118 recorded bearers to 2,828. That is a decrease of 290 (-9.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,332 to #10,779.
What does the Census say about the background of Hauer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hauer, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Black (3.0%) and Hispanic (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 Hauer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (2,585 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hauer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.4%), Black (3.0%), Hispanic (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 Hauer (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 Hauer mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a person who hewed or cut wood or stone. 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 Hauer (0.95 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 Hauer?
See how common the surname Hauer is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.