Explore the Family Name Happ
The meaning of Happ
1. South German: metonymic occupational name for someone who made sickles or who used a sickle, from Middle High German happe, heppe ‘sickle, vintner’s hook’. 2. German: from a shortened form of the medieval German personal names Hadebald or Hadebert (see Happel). 3. English: nickname for a fortunate or well favored person, from Middle English happ(e) ‘prosperity’, ‘favor’ (from Old English gehæp ‘fit’). Compare Chance.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Happ in the United States?
According to data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Happ has seen a slight decline in popularity over a decade. In 2000, it ranked 21,088 but slipped down by 4.78% to 22,095 in 2010. However, the number of people with the Happ surname slightly increased during the same timeframe. There were 1,161 individuals bearing the surname in 2000 and 1,172 in 2010, marking a modest growth of 0.95%. The proportion of Happs per 100,000 people also fell by around 7%, going from 0.43 in 2000 to 0.40 in 2010.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #21,088 | #22,095 | -4.78% |
| Count | 1,161 | 1,172 | 0.95% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.43 | 0.4 | -6.98% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Happ
On the ethnicity front, the majority of people with the Happ surname identified as White according to the Decennial U.S. Census data. While 95.00% identified as White in 2000, this percentage decreased slightly to 94.62% in 2010. The proportion identifying as Black decreased significantly from 1.12% to 0.77% during the same period. Conversely, those identifying as Hispanic saw an increase from 2.41% to 2.65%. Although the percentage of people identifying as two or more races was quite low in 2000 at 0.60%, it witnessed a substantial increase of 113.33% in 2010, reaching 1.28%. No respondents identified as Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either year.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 95% | 94.62% | -0.4% |
| Hispanic | 2.41% | 2.65% | 9.96% |
| Two or More Races | 0.6% | 1.28% | 113.33% |
| Black | 1.12% | 0.77% | -31.25% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0% | 0% | 0% |