2000
#8,351
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,643
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.35
Rare Last name
Henn
Derived from a shortened form of German names beginning with "Hen-," such as Hendrik or Henning.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,963 Americans carry the last name Henn. That puts it at #9,081 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.16 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 86,489 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Henn 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 Henn with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.0K
1 in 86,489
Census rank
#9,081
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,456 bearers of the surname Henn in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.16 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9081st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Henn, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Henn
The surname Henn has its origins in Germany, where it first emerged as a locational name during the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Old German word "henne," meaning a hen or rooster. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a place where poultry was raised or traded.
Historically, the Henn surname can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, where a certain "Henricus Henne" is mentioned in an entry dated 1292.
In the 14th century, the surname Henn began to appear in various municipal records and tax rolls across German towns and villages. For instance, a "Cunradus Henne" is listed in the Urkundenbuch der Stadt Hildesheim, a compilation of documents from the city of Hildesheim, dated 1348.
As the name spread throughout Germany, regional variations in spelling emerged, such as Henn, Henne, Henn, and Henn. These variations often reflected local dialects and pronunciation differences.
Notable individuals bearing the Henn surname include:
1. Johann Henn (1550-1623), a German astronomer and mathematician from Nuremberg.
2. Johann Henn (1625-1692), a German composer and organist active in the Baroque era.
3. Friedrich Henn (1766-1838), a German jurist and politician who served as the Mayor of Leipzig from 1819 to 1838.
4. Wilhelm Henn (1835-1920), a German painter and illustrator known for his landscapes and genre scenes.
5. Viktor Henn (1876-1942), a German sculptor and medallist who worked in the Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles.
While the Henn surname originated in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of Europe and beyond through migration and immigration patterns over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Henn
Among Census respondents with the surname Henn, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Henn 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 Henn surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.7% · 3,169
- Two or more races4.0% · 137
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 104
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 22
- Black or African American0.6% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Henn
Henn 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
#8,763
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,743
+100 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 1.27
Rank movement Down 412 places
2020
#9,081
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,456
-287 bearers (-7.7%)
Per 100,000 1.16
Rank movement Down 318 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,351 | 3,643 | 1.35 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,763 | 3,743 | 1.27 | +100 bearers (+2.7%) | Down 412 places |
| 2020 | #9,081 | 3,456 | 1.16 | -287 bearers (-7.7%) | Down 318 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 Henn 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 | #8,763 | #9,081 | -3.6% |
| Count | 3,743 | 3,456 | -7.7% |
| Per 100K | 1.27 | 1.16 | -9.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Henn bearers went from 3,743 to 3,456 (-7.7% change). The surname moved down 318 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,763 to #9,081.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Henn
FAQ
Henn surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Henn?
Name Census estimates that about 3,963 living Americans carry the surname Henn. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 86,489 residents.
How common is Henn?
Henn ranks #9,081 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.16 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 3,456 people with the surname Henn. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,963), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.16 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.16 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 Henn.
Has Henn become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Henn went from 3,743 recorded bearers to 3,456. That is a decrease of 287 (-7.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,763 to #9,081.
What does the Census say about the background of Henn?
Among Census respondents with the surname Henn, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Henn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (3,169 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Henn appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.7%), Two or More Races (4.0%), Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Henn (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 Henn mean?
Derived from a shortened form of German names beginning with "Hen-," such as Hendrik or Henning. 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 Henn (1.16 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 Henn?
Find out how common the surname Henn is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.