The Hopkins surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 96,810 people carried this name — #322 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 3,050 people counted. That is up 2% from 94,603 in 2000.

See Hopkins on the map Look up another surname

Share

What the name means

The meaning of the Hopkins surname

An English, Irish and Welsh surname originating as a patronymic.

From Hob + -kin + the patronymic suffix -s.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Hopkins» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Robert’.

An early record he cites: Nicholas Hobekyn, Cambridgeshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Hopkin, Hopkins and Hopkinson.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 396 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 44 births for the Hopkins name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Connacht. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 2,000 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Connacht 24
Leinster 12
Ulster 6
Munster 2

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

42 people named Hopkins live in Switzerland.

They live in 6 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Vaud 13
Geneva 11
Zurich 7
Solothurn 5
Bern 3
Basel-Landschaft 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 41 people named Hopkins.

Most of them — 38 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 1 département, most often Paris.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 38
Paris 3

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 23 people named Hopkins live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 12
Chubut 11

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In the Nordic population registers

174 people named Hopkins are counted in Sweden and Finland.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 125
Finland (2026) 49

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Hopkins was found among the farmers of 6 counties.

It was most frequent in South Wales: 108 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 93. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent. His list gives one count for the spellings Hopkin and Hopkins.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

South Wales 108
Gloucestershire 43
Cambridgeshire 38
Bedfordshire 30
Dorset 26
Monmouthshire 22

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In Scotland’s registers today

Hopkins was recorded 40 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 648th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 39. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

471 families named Hopkins, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 2,676 people lived in those households, 5.7 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 4 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Rhode Island 75
Maryland 59
Massachusetts 57
New York 48
Connecticut 42
North Carolina 34
Vermont 33
Pennsylvania 28
Virginia 27
South Carolina 26
Maine 25
New Hampshire 17

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 246 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Hopkins in American newspapers,
1906–1920.

Newspaper page from The St. Mary Banner carrying the name Hopkins
The St. Mary Banner 1906-11-10
Newspaper page from Omaha Daily Bee carrying the name Hopkins
Omaha Daily Bee 1911-06-24
Newspaper page from The Starkville News carrying the name Hopkins
The Starkville News 1920-11-05

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 30,722 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Hopkins in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

143,533 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Hopkins. The most, 20,976, date from the 1920s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Queensland, at 1.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 36,435
Queensland 33,141
Victoria 31,958
South Australia 16,295
Western Australia 13,311
Tasmania 11,367
ACT (Canberra) 608
Northern Territory 176

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Hopkins.

Who carried it

People named Hopkins,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Thomas Hopkins
    Thomas Hopkins d. 1720 · politician
  • Sampson Hopkins d. 1622 · politician
  • William Hopkins d. 1647 · politician
  • John Hopkins d. 1615 · politician
  • J. A. H. Hopkins d. 1960 · political campaign staff
  • Benjamin Bond Hopkins d. 1794 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Hopkins,
in the records of 9 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States10,722 records

10,722 records of the Hopkins name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 3,458
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 2,274
  • Other U.S. records 4,990
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Thomas Hopkins

    Born 1946; from New York, New York. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1968 in Tay Ninh, South Vietnam. Buried at Mount Zion Cemetery, Elizabethtown, North Carolina.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Walter B. Hopkins

    Born 1922 in Tennessee. Enlisted 1943 at Camp Forrest; mechanic from Davidson County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1970, buried at Nashville National Cemetery, Tennessee.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Uriah Hopkins

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the City of New York from Liverpool, aged 22; iron worker. From South Wales, Wales; bound for Pittsburgh.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 10,722 records for Hopkins in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia3,582 records

3,582 records of the Hopkins name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1,834
  • Tasmanian Names Index 572
  • Other Australian records 1,176
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Maria Hopkins

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Elizabeth & Henry, sailing from London in 1848. Native of Guildford, Surrey. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1849. Married 1849 in Bothwell, Tasmania, aged 31.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Charles Hopkins

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the John, sailing from Spithead in 1833. Native of London, Middlesex. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1847. Married 1847 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 28.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Richard Hopkins

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Phoenix, sailing from Portsmouth in 1822. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1839. Married 1839 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 39.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 3,582 records for Hopkins in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain).

Canada1,043 records

1,043 records of the Hopkins name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 836
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 54
  • Other Canadian records 153
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Thos Hopkins

    Came to Ontario in 1881 aboard the Scandin, landing at Quebec, bound for London, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record George Hopkins

    Killed in 1892 at the Springhill No. 1 mine, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Daniel John Hopkins

    Died 1981, aged 28; buried at St. Vital Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.

Showing 3 of 1,043 records for Hopkins in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom199 records

199 records of the Hopkins name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 105
  • Welsh wills index cards 54
  • Other British records 40
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ernest Hopkins

    Died 1960, aged 86; buried at Logie Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record William Hopkins

    Will proved in 1926; of Yspytty, Ystwyth.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Thomas Hopkins

    Buried in 1797 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 60.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 199 records for Hopkins in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

New Zealand65 records

65 records of the Hopkins name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 57
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 7
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Bertram Owen Hopkins

    Died 1973, aged 80; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ivor Herbert Hopkins

    Died 1985, aged 71; buried at Fairhall Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 65 records for Hopkins in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Ireland20 records

20 records of the Hopkins name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Frank Hopkins

    Died 1980, aged 57; buried at Clontuskert, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ellen Hopkins

    Died 1881, aged 19; buried at Cortoon, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 20 records for Hopkins in Ireland.

Counts: Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Netherlands14 records

14 records of the Hopkins name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 6
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 6
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 2
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Florence Hopkins

    Married in 1918 in Hilversum. Died 1966 in Utrecht, aged 84.

    Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0); Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Theodore James Hopkins

    Married in 1945 in Rotterdam.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 14 records for Hopkins in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

France7 records

7 records of the Hopkins name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Donald Leon Hopkins

    Born 1920 in the United States; died 1991 in Perpignan (Pyrénées-Orientales).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 1 of 7 records for Hopkins in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Belgium1 record

1 record of the Hopkins name in Belgium Belgian civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Francis William Hopkins

    Died 1940 in Aalst; born 1910 in Barton Hill Bristol.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Aalst (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Hopkins.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Hopkins 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.

See the Hopkins volume
Scroll to Top