Heathe
A feminine name derived from the word "heath", meaning a flowering evergreen plant.
Name Census estimates that about 69 living Americans carry the first name Heathe. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 68.0% of registrations being female. The average person named Heathe today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Heathe births was 1973 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Heathe. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Heathe. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
69
~ 1 in 4,967,454 Americans
Peak year
1973
18 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
1976 SSA rank
#5,184
Tracked since 1971
Gender
Gender distribution for Heathe
Heathe is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 75 total registrations, 24 (32.0%) were male and 51 (68.0%) were female.
Heathe as a male name
- Ranked #5,184 in 1976
- 6 male births in 1976
- Peak: 1975 (7 births)
Heathe as a female name
- Ranked #10,080 in 1989
- 7 female births in 1989
- Peak: 1973 (12 births)
Popularity
Heathe: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Heathe from the 1970s through to the 1980s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 52 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Heathe remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Heathe by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Heathe during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Heathe
The name Heathe originates from the Old English language, which was spoken in parts of Britain from the 5th to the 11th centuries. It is derived from the Old English word "hæþ," which means "heath" or "heathland." This suggests that the name may have been initially given to someone who lived near or in a heathland area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Heathe can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings and population in England, completed in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror. In this record, a person named Heathe is listed as a landowner in the county of Gloucestershire.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Heathe appears sporadically in various historical documents, such as legal records and parish registers. One notable individual bearing this name was Heathe de Chadwick, a knight who fought in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, during the Hundred Years' War between England and France.
In the 16th century, a Heathe Browne is recorded as a merchant in the city of London, engaged in trade with the Low Countries. Around the same time, a Heathe Fitzwilliam is mentioned as a member of the gentry in the county of Yorkshire.
Moving into the 17th century, Heathe Cartwright was a prominent Puritan minister and author, known for his religious writings and sermons. He lived from 1599 to 1678 and was a vocal critic of the Church of England's practices during the English Civil War.
Heathe Llewelyn, born in 1712, was a Welsh poet and scholar who made significant contributions to the preservation of Welsh language and literature. His works include translations of classical texts and anthologies of Welsh poetry.
While the name Heathe may have been more common in the past, it has become relatively rare in modern times. However, its historical roots and connection to the natural landscape of heathlands make it a unique and intriguing name with a rich cultural heritage.
People
Heathe + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Heathe as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Heathe: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Heathe?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 69 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Heathe going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 4,967,454 US residents.
Is Heathe a common name?
We classify Heathe as "Very Rare". It ranks above 59.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 75 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Heathe most popular?
The single biggest year for Heathe was 1973, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Heathe is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Heathe a female name?
Yes, 68.0% of people registered as Heathe in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.