2000
#5,693
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,587
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.07
Rare Last name
Hindman
An English occupational surname for a farm laborer, especially one who looks after the animals.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,857 Americans carry the last name Hindman. That puts it at #6,403 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.71 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 58,520 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hindman 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
5.9K
1 in 58,520
Census rank
#6,403
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,108 bearers of the surname Hindman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.71 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6403rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hindman, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hindman
The surname HINDMAN has its origins in the medieval German states, particularly in the areas of Bavaria and Swabia. It is believed to have derived from the Middle High German words "hint" and "man," which translate to "rear" and "man," respectively. This combination suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived at the back or rear of a settlement or village.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name HINDMAN can be found in the Würzburg archives, dating back to the 14th century. In these records, a certain "Heinrich Hintman" is mentioned as a landowner and farmer in the region. This suggests that the name had already established itself as a surname by that time.
During the 16th century, the spelling of the name began to evolve, with variations such as "Hintmann," "Hyndman," and "Hindmann" appearing in various documents across different German states. This period also saw the emergence of notable individuals bearing the HINDMAN surname, such as Johann Hindmann (1525-1588), a Lutheran theologian and reformer in Saxony.
As the HINDMAN family dispersed throughout Europe over the following centuries, the name took on various spellings and regional variations. In England, for instance, the surname is often spelled as "Hindman" or "Hyndman," while in the Netherlands and Belgium, it appears as "Hindman" or "Hindemann."
Notable figures throughout history who have carried the HINDMAN surname include:
1. Robert Hindman (1759-1823), an American pioneer and soldier who fought in the Revolutionary War.
2. John Hindman (1785-1862), an American politician who served as the 11th Governor of Arkansas.
3. Thomas Hindman (1828-1868), a Major General in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.
4. Gustav Hindman (1847-1904), a German-American businessman and co-founder of the H.J. Heinz Company.
5. William Hindman (1871-1945), an English cricketer who played for Derbyshire County Cricket Club.
While the HINDMAN surname may have originated from a rather humble description of one's location within a settlement, it has since become associated with individuals who have made significant contributions across various fields, from politics and military service to business and sports.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hindman
Among Census respondents with the surname Hindman, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Hindman 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 Hindman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.6% · 4,630
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 185
- Two or more races3.2% · 161
- Black or African American1.0% · 51
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 42
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 39
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hindman
Hindman 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
#5,727
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,056
+469 bearers (+8.4%)
Per 100,000 2.05
Rank movement Down 34 places
2020
#6,403
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,108
-948 bearers (-15.7%)
Per 100,000 1.71
Rank movement Down 676 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,693 | 5,587 | 2.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,727 | 6,056 | 2.05 | +469 bearers (+8.4%) | Down 34 places |
| 2020 | #6,403 | 5,108 | 1.71 | -948 bearers (-15.7%) | Down 676 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 Hindman 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 | #5,727 | #6,403 | -11.8% |
| Count | 6,056 | 5,108 | -15.7% |
| Per 100K | 2.05 | 1.71 | -16.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hindman bearers went from 6,056 to 5,108 (-15.7% change). The surname moved down 676 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,727 to #6,403.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hindman
FAQ
Hindman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hindman?
Name Census estimates that about 5,857 living Americans carry the surname Hindman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 58,520 residents.
How common is Hindman?
Hindman ranks #6,403 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.71 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,108 people with the surname Hindman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,857), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.71 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.71 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Hindman.
Has Hindman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hindman went from 6,056 recorded bearers to 5,108. That is a decrease of 948 (-15.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,727 to #6,403.
What does the Census say about the background of Hindman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hindman, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Hindman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.6% (4,630 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hindman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.6%), Hispanic (3.6%), Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Hindman (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 Hindman mean?
An English occupational surname for a farm laborer, especially one who looks after the animals. 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 Hindman (1.71 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 Hindman?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Hindman on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.