Explore the Family Name Hands

The meaning of Hands

English (mainly West Midlands): variant of Hand, perhaps a plural form if a nickname or with genitival -s if a patronymic. In most instances it is probably a post-medieval variant, with excrescent -s. Compare Hance 1.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname 'Hands' has seen a slight increase in popularity over the decade from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, it was ranked 19,040th, rising marginally to 18,939th in 2010, representing a growth of 0.53 percent. The actual count of individuals with this surname also saw a growth of 8.92 percent, increasing from 1,323 in 2000 to 1,441 in 2010. Notably, the proportion of people with this surname per 100,000 remained consistent at 0.49.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#19,040	#18,939	0.53%
Count	1,323	1,441	8.92%
Proportion per 100k	0.49	0.49	0%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Hands

In terms of ethnicity, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census shows some shift in the ethnic composition of individuals bearing the 'Hands' surname between 2000 and 2010. Those identifying as White decreased by 8.72 percent, making up 60.72 percent of the total in 2010, down from 66.52 percent in 2000. On the other hand, individuals identifying as Black increased by 9.68 percent, accounting for 30.26 percent of the total in 2010, up from 27.59 percent in 2000. The group identifying as Hispanic saw a significant growth of 28.78 percent, while those identifying as two or more races soared by 216.18 percent. There were no identified individuals of Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian and Alaskan Native descent in either year.

	2000	2010	Change
White	66.52%	60.72%	-8.72%
Black	27.59%	30.26%	9.68%
Hispanic	4.69%	6.04%	28.78%
Two or More Races	0.68%	2.15%	216.18%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%