Hanson
Masculine · “son of Hans”
Hanson is the son of Hans, and Hans is what German and Scandinavian mouths did to Johannes over a few centuries of shortening. So the name is a patronymic three removes from Hebrew.
How old is the name Hanson?
Hanson first appears in US birth records in 1883 — 142 years ago. The typical Hanson alive today was born around 2002, making them about 23 years old. About 1,500 people named Hanson are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Hanson most popular?
Hanson peaked in 1883, reaching #892 nationally. Today it ranks #2991, 2,099 places below that high. See the whole 1883 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Yochanan to Hanson
The story of Hanson
Scandinavian naming used true patronymics until the nineteenth century — a man's second name was his father's first name with -sen or -son attached, and it changed every generation. When governments required fixed surnames, whatever the current patronymic happened to be got frozen, which is why Hansen, Jensen, Nielsen and Andersen are so overwhelmingly common in Denmark and Norway. Hanson is the English spelling, and it reached America with both Scandinavian and English families. Its use as a given name is a nineteenth-century American development.
Meaning
son of Hans, a form of John
Hans is the German and Scandinavian short form of Johannes, from Greek Ioannes and Hebrew Yochanan, 'the Lord is gracious'. Adding -son gives Hanson and Hansen, which are the same surname with English and Danish spellings. The reading is documented at every step.
How the name formed
- Yochanan
- Johannes
- Hans
- Hanson
Related forms: Hansen · Hans · Hansson
Pronouncing Hanson
HAN-sun
Two syllables, stress on the first, the second reduced. There is no ambiguity in the sound; the only question is whether the spelling ends in -son or -sen.
Nicknames for Hanson
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
- 1883
- Most boys named
- 201856 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #892reached in 1883
- Change vs 2023
- −6.8%41 in 2025, from 44
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.
Hanson in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Hansen in Danish — spelling variant
- Hans in German — related form
- Hansson in Swedish — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Hansons among us
people named Hanson are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 41,660 born in 2025 was named Hanson
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Hanson 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 Hanson is headed
Hanson 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.
Hanson beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Hanson in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Hans is a ready short form and a complete name with a very long record.
- A documented patronymic with a traceable line back to Hebrew.
- Two syllables that every English speaker says correctly at first sight.
- Hanson and Hansen are both extremely common and the ending gets swapped constantly.
- It is unmistakably a surname and will be read as one on forms.
- A musical group of the name was very widely known in the nineteen-nineties, which some people will mention.
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What they receive
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Hanson
Masculine · #2991 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Hansons are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,500 people named Hanson are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Hanson in 2025?
- Hanson ranks #2991 among US boy names in 2025, with 41 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Hanson?
- About 1 in every 41,660 US boys born in 2025 was named Hanson — 41 in all.
- Will my child share the name Hanson with classmates?
- Hanson will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Hanson
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Roran#2991 · Izaak#2991 · Nyle#2991 · Levin#2991 · Tilden#2991 · Breck#2991 · Kevon#2991 · Oswaldo#2991
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Hanson? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Hanson and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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