Find out how popular the last name He is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named He.

He, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the He surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of He in America

He is the 2373rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The He surname appeared 15,363 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname He.

We can also compare 2010 data for He to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name He

The surname "He" is believed to have originated in China, where it is one of the most common surnames. It dates back to ancient times, with records of people bearing this name dating as far back as the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC).

The name is thought to have derived from the Chinese character "何" (hé), which can be translated as "what" or "how". This character was likely used as a surname for individuals who were uncertain of their ancestry or family lineage.

In ancient China, surnames were often derived from place names, occupations, or personal characteristics. The surname "He" may have been given to people who lived in or near a place with a name derived from the character "何".

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the surname "He" can be found in the "Book of Documents" (Shujing), an ancient Chinese classic text compiled around the 6th century BC. The book mentions a person named "He Yu", who was a statesman and official during the Xia Dynasty (c. 2070-1600 BC).

Another notable figure in Chinese history with the surname "He" was He Xiu (129-182 AD), a renowned scholar and calligrapher during the Eastern Han Dynasty. He is credited with developing the "cursive script" style of Chinese calligraphy.

During the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), the surname "He" was particularly prominent in the region of Shandong province. One famous individual from this period was He Zhizhang (659-744 AD), a celebrated poet and official who served under several Tang emperors.

In later Chinese history, the surname "He" continued to be widespread and associated with numerous scholars, officials, and literary figures. For example, He Qiaoyuan (1809-1888) was a notable Qing Dynasty scholar and poet who wrote extensively on classical Chinese literature.

While the surname "He" has its origins in China, it has also spread to other parts of the world through immigration and cultural exchange. However, its deepest roots and historical significance can be traced back to its Chinese heritage spanning thousands of years.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name He

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname He.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for He was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of He has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name He was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of He, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!