# Hanks (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/hanks/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname originating as a patronymic.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 17,498 |
| US rank (2010) | 2,066 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 17,645 people |
| Change since 2000 | +2.1% (17,141 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | Hankes |

## Etymology

From Hank + -s. * (surname): From Hank + the patronymic suffix -s. * (plural): From Hank + the pluralization suffix -s.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Hanks in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 83% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 10% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.6% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.4% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.5% |
| Two or more races | 1.9% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Hanks in the United States.

## People named Hanks

- Tom Hanks, American actor and film producer (born 1956)
- Jim Hanks, American actor
- Colin Hanks, American actor (born 1977)
- Sam Hanks, American racing driver (1914-1994)
- Thomas C. Hanks, American seismologist (1944–2024)
- Chet Hanks, American actor and musician

## Similar surnames

Haynes, Haines, Hanes, Hang, Hans, Hanke, Hanshaw, Hank, Hankey, Hanus, Huang, Hines.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.