Explore the Family Name Hawk
The meaning of Hawk
1. English: nickname from Middle English havoc, havek, hauk ‘hawk or falcon’ (Old English hafoc). It may have been given to a professional falconer, to someone of a savage or cruel disposition, or to someone who held land by providing hawks for his lord, as in an instance from 1130, where Ralph Hauoc owed the royal Exchequer two ‘girfals’ (i.e. gyrfalcons or hawks). 2. English: topographic name for a ‘(dweller in) the nook or corner’, from Middle English halke (derived from Old English halh + the diminutive suffix -oc). 3. English: possibly also a survival into Middle English of the Old English personal name Hafoc, which was originally a nickname from the word ‘hawk, falcon’. It seems to have died out of use as a personal name by c.1250. 4. Native American: translation into English (and shortening) of a personal name based on a word, such as Lakota or Dakota Sioux četaŋ, meaning ‘hawk’. The importance of the hawk to Native Americans is reflected in their traditional personal names, many of which were adopted as surnames (translated into English), e.g. Black Hawk (see Blackhawk), Iron Hawk (see Ironhawk), and Thunder Hawk (see Thunderhawk). See also Bird 4. 5. Americanized form of German Hauck or Haug.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Hawk in the United States?
According to the Decennial U.S. Census data on surname popularity, the name Hawk had a slight decrease in rank from 2045 in 2000 to 2149 in 2010, indicating that it became less common over the decade. However, the count of individuals with this surname did increase by 3.97%, from 16,240 to 16,884. This suggests that while the relative popularity of the surname may have dropped, the absolute number of people called Hawk has risen slightly. The proportion of the surname Hawk per 100,000 people also saw a decrease of approximately 5%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #2,045 | #2,149 | -5.09% |
| Count | 16,240 | 16,884 | 3.97% |
| Proportion per 100k | 6.02 | 5.72 | -4.98% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Hawk
In terms of ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows some changes between 2000 and 2010. Individuals identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander with the surname Hawk increased by a substantial 20.45%. There was also an increase in those reporting two or more races (37.2% increase) and Hispanics (32.54% increase). Meanwhile, there was a small increase among African Americans (4.54%), and American Indian and Alaskan Natives (3.14%). Interestingly, there was a slight decrease for those identifying as White, dropping by 1.72% over the decade. These shifts reflect the changing demographics of the United States as a whole, as well as within specific surname groups.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 87.18% | 85.68% | -1.72% |
| Black | 6.61% | 6.91% | 4.54% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 2.87% | 2.96% | 3.14% |
| Two or More Races | 1.64% | 2.25% | 37.2% |
| Hispanic | 1.26% | 1.67% | 32.54% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.44% | 0.53% | 20.45% |
Hawk ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Hawk is British & Irish, which comprises 45.0% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (32.5%) and Eastern European (4.6%). Additional ancestries include Scandinavian, Italian, Spanish & Portuguese, Ashkenazi Jewish, and Indigenous American.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| British & Irish | 45.0% |
| French & German | 32.5% |
| Eastern European | 4.6% |
| Other | 17.9% |
Possible origins of the surname Hawk
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Hawk have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Glasgow City, United Kingdom | 85.30% |
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 85.30% |
| Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 85.30% |
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 85.10% |
| West Midlands, United Kingdom | 84.60% |
What Hawk haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Hawk is I-Z138, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup I-Z138 is descended from haplogroup I-M170. Other common haplogroups include I-Z58 and I-M253, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Blanchard, Perkins, Christensen, Roth, Nielsen, Olsen, Andersen, Christiansen, Richardson, Hansen.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Hawk surname are: H1, T2b, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins I-M170
Your paternal lineage may be linked to Alexander Hamilton
Early in the morning on July 11, 1804, Aaron Burr (then Vice President of the United States) and Alexander Hamilton (founder of the U.S. Treasury) dueled on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. This marked the culmination of a bitter personal and political rivalry between the two men. Alexander Hamilton died as a result of the duel, but his intellectual legacy survives in the founding documents of the nation he helped build. A piece of his genetic legacy survives as well: in the 21st century, genealogists documented the paternal haplogroups of dozens of Hamilton's living descendants and concluded that the Founding Father's paternal haplogroup was a branch of I-DF29.
Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette
Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.
What do people with the surname Hawk have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Hawk" Surname 42.7%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Misophonia
When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.
"Hawk" Surname 21.4%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Hawk" Surname 23.9%
23andMe Users 21.1%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Hawk" Surname 16.7%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Hawk?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Hawk are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition