2000
#157
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 151,986
First available Census row
Per 100,000 56.34
Common Last name
Hunt
An occupational surname referring to a hunter or someone who hunts game.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 175,178 Americans carry the last name Hunt. That puts it at #173 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 51.11 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,957 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hunt 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 Hunt with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
175K
1 in 1,957
Census rank
#173
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
51.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
153K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 152,764 bearers of the surname Hunt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 51.11 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 173rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hunt, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.9%. The next largest groups are Black (16.5%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hunt
The surname Hunt is of Anglo-Saxon origin, derived from the Old English "hunta" meaning a huntsman or hunter. It is believed to have originated in the 8th or 9th century as an occupational surname given to those who worked as hunters or gamekeepers.
The Hunt surname is first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. Early variations of the spelling included Hunte, Hunta, and Huntere. The name was most prevalent in the counties of Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, and Warwickshire, suggesting that it may have originated in the West Midlands region of England.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Richard le Hunt, who is mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1221. Another early example is Walter le Hunte, who is recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire in 1230.
The Hunt surname is also associated with various place names in England, such as Hunton in Kent, Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, and Huntington in Herefordshire. These place names may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname in different regions.
Notable individuals with the surname Hunt throughout history include:
1. William Holman Hunt (1827-1910), an English painter and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.
2. Henry Hunt (1773-1835), an English radical orator and pioneer of working-class radicalism.
3. John Hunt (c. 1550-1615), an English merchant and one of the founders of the East India Company.
4. Leigh Hunt (1784-1859), an English essayist, poet, and critic, and a central figure in the Romantic movement.
5. James Henry Leigh Hunt (1784-1859), an English critic, essayist, poet, and writer, best known for his work "The Autobiography of Leigh Hunt."
The Hunt surname has a rich history spanning several centuries, originating as an occupational name for hunters and gamekeepers in medieval England. Its widespread distribution across various counties and association with place names reflects the mobility and diverse origins of its bearers over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hunt
Among Census respondents with the surname Hunt, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.9%. The next largest groups are Black (16.5%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Hunt 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 Hunt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.9% · 108,269
- Black or African American16.5% · 25,212
- Two or more races4.7% · 7,204
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.7% · 5,691
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 5,209
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1,179
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hunt
Hunt 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
#169
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 158,421
+6,435 bearers (+4.2%)
Per 100,000 53.71
Rank movement Down 12 places
2020
#173
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 152,764
-5,657 bearers (-3.6%)
Per 100,000 51.11
Rank movement Down 4 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #157 | 151,986 | 56.34 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #169 | 158,421 | 53.71 | +6,435 bearers (+4.2%) | Down 12 places |
| 2020 | #173 | 152,764 | 51.11 | -5,657 bearers (-3.6%) | Down 4 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 Hunt 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 | #169 | #173 | -2.4% |
| Count | 158,421 | 152,764 | -3.6% |
| Per 100K | 53.71 | 51.11 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hunt bearers went from 158,421 to 152,764 (-3.6% change). The surname moved down 4 positions in the national ranking, going from #169 to #173.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hunt
FAQ
Hunt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hunt?
Name Census estimates that about 175,178 living Americans carry the surname Hunt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,957 residents.
How common is Hunt?
Hunt ranks #173 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 51.11 per 100,000 residents, which is about 51 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 152,764 people with the surname Hunt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (175,178), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 51.11 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 51.11 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 51 of them to have the surname Hunt.
Has Hunt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hunt went from 158,421 recorded bearers to 152,764. That is a decrease of 5,657 (-3.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #169 to #173.
What does the Census say about the background of Hunt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hunt, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.9%. The next largest groups are Black (16.5%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Hunt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.9% (108,269 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hunt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (70.9%), Black (16.5%), Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Hunt (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 Hunt mean?
An occupational surname referring to a hunter or someone who hunts game. 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 Hunt (51.11 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 Hunt?
Find out how common the surname Hunt is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.