2000
#289
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 94,603
First available Census row
Per 100,000 35.07
Common Last name
Hopkins
An English occupational surname referring to the son of Hob or Hop, a nickname for Robert.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 106,558 Americans carry the last name Hopkins. That puts it at #332 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 31.09 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,217 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hopkins 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 Hopkins with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
107K
1 in 3,217
Census rank
#332
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
31.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
93K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 92,924 bearers of the surname Hopkins in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 31.09 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 332nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hopkins, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.7%. The next largest groups are Black (20.2%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hopkins
The Hopkins surname is believed to have originated in England, deriving from the Old English word "hop" meaning a small valley or hollow, and "cyn" meaning a family or kin. This suggests the name may have initially referred to someone who lived in a small hollow or valley.
The name first appeared in various early medieval records in different spellings, such as Hopcyn, Hopkyn, and Hopkyn. One of the earliest known references is in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is recorded as "Hopcyn."
In the 13th century, the name appears in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire as "Hopkin," referring to a landowner in the area. During this period, many surnames derived from geographical locations or features of the landscape where families lived.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the Hopkins surname was William Hopkins, a merchant and member of the Guild of Corpus Christi in York, England, who lived in the late 14th century. Another notable early bearer of the name was John Hopkins, a wealthy landowner and benefactor from Coventry, England, who lived from around 1450 to 1516.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Hopkins name became more widespread across England, with records showing families in various counties, including Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, and Somerset. During this time, the surname was also sometimes spelled as "Hopkyns" or "Hopkines."
One of the most famous individuals with the Hopkins surname was Edward Hopkins, born in 1600, who was a successful merchant and later the governor of the Connecticut Colony in America. He played a significant role in the early development of the colony and founded the Hopkins Grammar School in New Haven, Connecticut.
Another notable Hopkins was Matthew Hopkins, known as the "Witch-Finder General," born in 1620 in Suffolk, England. He gained notoriety for his aggressive pursuit and prosecution of alleged witches during the English witch trials in the 1640s.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Hopkins surname continued to be prominent, with individuals such as Samuel Hopkins (1721-1803), a prominent Calvinist minister and theologian in New England, and Gerard Hopkins (1844-1889), a renowned English poet and Jesuit priest.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hopkins
Among Census respondents with the surname Hopkins, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.7%. The next largest groups are Black (20.2%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Hopkins 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 Hopkins surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.7% · 65,713
- Black or African American20.2% · 18,774
- Two or more races4.3% · 4,031
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 2,957
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 828
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 621
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hopkins
Hopkins 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
#322
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 96,810
+2,207 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 32.82
Rank movement Down 33 places
2020
#332
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 92,924
-3,886 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 31.09
Rank movement Down 10 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #289 | 94,603 | 35.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #322 | 96,810 | 32.82 | +2,207 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 33 places |
| 2020 | #332 | 92,924 | 31.09 | -3,886 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 10 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 Hopkins 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 | #322 | #332 | -3.1% |
| Count | 96,810 | 92,924 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 32.82 | 31.09 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hopkins bearers went from 96,810 to 92,924 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 10 positions in the national ranking, going from #322 to #332.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hopkins
FAQ
Hopkins surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hopkins?
Name Census estimates that about 106,558 living Americans carry the surname Hopkins. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,217 residents.
How common is Hopkins?
Hopkins ranks #332 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 31.09 per 100,000 residents, which is about 31 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 92,924 people with the surname Hopkins. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (106,558), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 31.09 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 31.09 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 31 of them to have the surname Hopkins.
Has Hopkins become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hopkins went from 96,810 recorded bearers to 92,924. That is a decrease of 3,886 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #322 to #332.
What does the Census say about the background of Hopkins?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hopkins, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.7%. The next largest groups are Black (20.2%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Hopkins in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.7% (65,713 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hopkins appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (70.7%), Black (20.2%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Hopkins (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 Hopkins mean?
An English occupational surname referring to the son of Hob or Hop, a nickname for Robert. 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 Hopkins (31.09 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 Americans have the surname Hopkins?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.