2000
#195
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 132,645
First available Census row
Per 100,000 49.17
Common Last name
Hoffman
A surname of German origin referring to someone who lived on a farm or worked as a farmer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 142,833 Americans carry the last name Hoffman. That puts it at #245 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 41.67 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,400 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hoffman 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 Hoffman with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
143K
1 in 2,400
Census rank
#245
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
41.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
125K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 124,557 bearers of the surname Hoffman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 41.67 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 245th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoffman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hoffman
The surname Hoffman is of German origin and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the German word "hof," meaning a courtyard or a farm, and the suffix "-mann," meaning a man or a person. The name Hoffman essentially translates to "a man from the courtyard" or "a farmer."
The earliest recorded instances of the name Hoffman can be found in various medieval German documents and records from the 13th and 14th centuries. The name was particularly prevalent in regions such as Bavaria, Saxony, and the Rhineland, where it was often associated with landowners, farmers, and those who worked on agricultural estates.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Hoffman was Johannes Hoffman, a German scholar and humanist who lived from 1519 to 1566. He was a prominent figure during the Protestant Reformation and played a significant role in the development of education in Germany.
Another notable Hoffman was the German philosopher and writer Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann, who lived from 1776 to 1822. He is best known for his fictional works, including the famous novella "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King," which inspired the beloved ballet "The Nutcracker."
In the realm of science, August Wilhelm von Hofmann (1818-1892) was a renowned German chemist who made significant contributions to the field of organic chemistry. He is credited with establishing the principles of modern chemical nomenclature and promoting the widespread use of structural formulas.
Moving into the arts, the name Hoffman is associated with the American painter Hans Hofmann (1880-1966), who was a pioneer of Abstract Expressionism and had a profound influence on the development of modern art in the United States.
Lastly, the surname Hoffman has also been prominent in the field of sports, with names like Trevor Hoffman (born 1967), a former professional baseball player and one of the most accomplished relief pitchers in Major League Baseball history.
Throughout its long history, the surname Hoffman has been spelled in various ways, including Hofmann, Hoffmann, and Hofman, reflecting regional variations and spelling preferences over time. These different spellings all share the same etymological roots and historical significance.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hoffman
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoffman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Hoffman 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 Hoffman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.3% · 113,757
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 3,892
- Two or more races2.9% · 3,624
- Black or African American1.3% · 1,591
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1,028
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 665
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hoffman
Hoffman 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
#224
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 131,401
-1,244 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 44.55
Rank movement Down 29 places
2020
#245
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124,557
-6,844 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 41.67
Rank movement Down 21 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #195 | 132,645 | 49.17 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #224 | 131,401 | 44.55 | -1,244 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 29 places |
| 2020 | #245 | 124,557 | 41.67 | -6,844 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 21 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 Hoffman 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 | #224 | #245 | -9.4% |
| Count | 131,401 | 124,557 | -5.2% |
| Per 100K | 44.55 | 41.67 | -6.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hoffman bearers went from 131,401 to 124,557 (-5.2% change). The surname moved down 21 positions in the national ranking, going from #224 to #245.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hoffman
FAQ
Hoffman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hoffman?
Name Census estimates that about 142,833 living Americans carry the surname Hoffman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,400 residents.
How common is Hoffman?
Hoffman ranks #245 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 41.67 per 100,000 residents, which is about 42 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 124,557 people with the surname Hoffman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (142,833), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 41.67 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 41.67 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 42 of them to have the surname Hoffman.
Has Hoffman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hoffman went from 131,401 recorded bearers to 124,557. That is a decrease of 6,844 (-5.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #224 to #245.
What does the Census say about the background of Hoffman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoffman, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Hoffman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.3% (113,757 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hoffman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.3%), Hispanic (3.1%), Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Hoffman (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 Hoffman mean?
A surname of German origin referring to someone who lived on a farm or worked as a farmer. 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 Hoffman (41.67 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 Hoffman?
Find out how many people have the surname Hoffman on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.