Explore the Family Name Hammerstein

The meaning of Hammerstein

1. German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name from any of various places called Hammerstein, from Old High German hamar ‘rock, crag’ + stein ‘stone’. 2. Jewish (Ashkenazic): artificial name composed of German Hammer ‘hammer’ + Stein ‘stone’. History: Hammerstein (see 1 above) is the name of a Hanoverian family, which originated in a small place of this name on the Rhine opposite Andernach. — The most famous bearer of the artificial name Hammerstein (see 2 above) is Oscar Hammerstein (1895–1960), the Jewish-American song writer. He was the grandson of Oscar Hammerstein (1848–1919), an operatic impresario who came to North America c.1863 and made a fortune with a machine that rolled cigars.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Hammerstein in the United States?

Based on the data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Hammerstein's popularity has decreased slightly over a decade. In 2000, this surname was ranked 66,878 and this dropped to 75,069 in 2010, indicating a decrease of 12.25%. The count of individuals with this surname also followed the same trend, decreasing from 276 in 2000 to 257 in 2010, a drop of 6.88%. The proportion per 100k people dropped by 10%, moving from 0.1 in 2000 to 0.09 in 2010.

20002010Change
Rank#66,878#75,069-12.25%
Count276257-6.88%
Proportion per 100k0.10.09-10%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Hammerstein

In terms of ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals that the majority of individuals with the Hammerstein surname identify as White, though there was a slight decrease in this demographic from 92.03% in 2000 to 90.66% in 2010. Interestingly, the percentage of individuals identifying as Hispanic saw significant growth, increasing from 3.26% in 2000 to 6.23% in 2010. This is an increase of 91.10%. The proportion of those identifying as two or more races decreased by 19.66%, from 2.9% in 2000 to 2.33% in 2010. No Hammersteins identified as Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either year.

20002010Change
White92.03%90.66%-1.49%
Hispanic3.26%6.23%91.1%
Two or More Races2.9%2.33%-19.66%
Asian/Pacific Islander0%0%0%
Black0%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%