Hansen
Masculine · “son of Hans”
Hansen is a Scandinavian patronymic and it means exactly what it says: son of Hans. Hans is a short form of Johannes, which is John, which is one of the most-used names in human history.
How old is the name Hansen?
Hansen first appears in US birth records in 1917 — 108 years ago. The typical Hansen alive today was born around 2007, making them about 18 years old. About 900 people named Hansen are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Hansen most popular?
Hansen peaked in 1963, reaching #3044 nationally. Today it ranks #3314, 270 places below that high. See the whole 1963 chart.
Where it comes from
From Yohanan to Hansen
The story of Hansen
Scandinavian naming was patronymic for centuries — every generation took a new surname from its father's first name — which is why Hansen, Jensen, Nielsen and Petersen are among the most common family names in Denmark and Norway. When surnames were frozen by law in the nineteenth century, whichever patronymic a family happened to hold became permanent. Hansen crossed to America with Scandinavian emigration and moved into given-name use recently.
Meaning
son of Hans, that is, of John
From Hebrew Yohanan, God is gracious, through Latin Johannes; German and Danish shortened it to Hans, and Scandinavian patronymics added -sen or -son to name the child.
How the name formed
- Yohanan
- Johannes
- Hans
- Hansen
Related forms: Hansson · Hansen · Hanssen
Pronouncing Hansen
HAN-sen
Two syllables, first stressed. Danish gives the second syllable a lighter vowel.
Nicknames for Hansen
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1917
- Most boys named
- 202435 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3044reached in 1963
- Change vs 2024
- 0.0%35 in 2025, from 35
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Hansen in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Hansson in Swedish — spelling variant
- Hansen in German — same name
- Hanssen in Dutch — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California.
Hansens among us
people named Hansen are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 48,802 born in 2025 was named Hansen
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Severn test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Hansen's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Severn climbed just as high around 1924, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Severn's path sketches the road Hansen is walking now.
Hansen sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Hansen is headed
Hansen should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Hansen beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Hansen in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning inherited from one of the best-documented names in existence.
- Hans sits inside it as a complete and very old name.
- Plain letters and an obvious pronunciation for English speakers.
- Hanson with an o is equally common in America and will be written for him.
- It reads as a surname to people meeting it in front of another one.
- A boy band of the 1990s carried the surname, which dates the association for some.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Hansen
Masculine · #3314 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Hansens are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Hansen are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Hansen in 2025?
- Hansen ranks #3314 among US boy names in 2025, with 35 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Hansen?
- About 1 in every 48,802 US boys born in 2025 was named Hansen — 35 in all.
- Will my child share the name Hansen with classmates?
- Hansen will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Hansen
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Rainier#3314 · Coulter#3314 · Caio#3314 · Kaydon#3314 · Daksh#3314 · Kree#3314 · Calen#3314 · Mathis#3314
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Hansen? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Hansen and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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