The Hance surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,464 people carried this name — #7,466 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 66,200 people counted. That is up 4% from 4,277 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Hance surname
From Hann + the patronymic suffix -s. In Scotland, a contraction of Angus.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Hance» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 175 people named Hance.
6 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 14 départements, most often Haute-Marne.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 103 people named Hance live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Namur.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Poland’s population register
52 people named Hance have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 70 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 4 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Łódź.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In print
Hance in American newspapers,
1895–1925.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 132,767 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Hance,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Henry Fletcher Hance 1827–1886 · diplomat -
Margaret Hance 1923–1990 · politician -
Kent Hance 1942– · politician -
John Hance 1840–1919 · naturalist
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James Busick Hance 1847–1915 · painter
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Madeleine Hance 1897–1952 · painter
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 8 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Hance.
When the index is not enough
This page says where Hance is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.