2000
#12,507
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,272
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.84
Rare Last name
Heacock
An English occupational surname referring to a haycock maker, one who rakes hay into piles for drying.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,249 Americans carry the last name Heacock. That puts it at #14,586 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 152,403 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Heacock surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Heacock with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.2K
1 in 152,403
Census rank
#14,586
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,961 bearers of the surname Heacock in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14586th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Heacock, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Heacock
The surname Heacock originated in England during the late medieval period. It is believed to have derived from an Old English term 'heah-cocc', which translates to "high cock" or "tall bird". This name likely referred to someone with a tall stature or someone who lived in an elevated area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of this surname dates back to 1275 in the Huntingdonshire Hundred Rolls, where a Richard Heycock is mentioned. The name also appears in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1301, where a John Heycock is listed.
Throughout the 14th and 15th centuries, various spellings of the name can be found in historical records, including Heycok, Haycock, and Heycocke. These variations reflect the evolution of the English language and the lack of standardized spelling during that era.
In the 16th century, the Heacock surname gained prominence in the county of Oxfordshire. Notable individuals from this time period include William Heacock, a yeoman farmer who lived in the village of Nettlebed in the late 1500s.
During the 17th century, the Heacock family expanded their presence across England, with several branches settling in the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, and Warwickshire. One notable figure from this era was John Heacock, a merchant and landowner who lived in the town of Wantage, Berkshire, in the mid-1600s.
The 18th century saw the Heacock name associated with various trades and professions. One notable individual was Robert Heacock, a respected clockmaker from Oxfordshire who lived from 1720 to 1795.
In the 19th century, the Heacock surname gained prominence in the literary world with the birth of Roger Heacock, a renowned English poet and author who lived from 1818 to 1890.
Another notable figure from the same era was Sir William Heacock, a distinguished military officer who served in the British Army during the Crimean War and the Indian Rebellion of 1857. He was born in 1825 and passed away in 1903.
As the Heacock family continued to spread across different regions of England, the surname also found its way to other parts of the British Isles and eventually to various parts of the world through immigration.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heacock
Among Census respondents with the surname Heacock, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Heacock bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Heacock surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.6% · 1,758
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 84
- Two or more races3.7% · 72
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 28
- Black or African American0.8% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Heacock
Heacock appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#13,786
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,194
-78 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Down 1,279 places
2020
#14,586
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,961
-233 bearers (-10.6%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Down 800 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,507 | 2,272 | 0.84 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,786 | 2,194 | 0.74 | -78 bearers (-3.4%) | Down 1,279 places |
| 2020 | #14,586 | 1,961 | 0.66 | -233 bearers (-10.6%) | Down 800 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Heacock surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #13,786 | #14,586 | -5.8% |
| Count | 2,194 | 1,961 | -10.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.74 | 0.66 | -11.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Heacock bearers went from 2,194 to 1,961 (-10.6% change). The surname moved down 800 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,786 to #14,586.
FAQ
Heacock surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Heacock?
Name Census estimates that about 2,249 living Americans carry the surname Heacock. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 152,403 residents.
How common is Heacock?
Heacock ranks #14,586 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,961 people with the surname Heacock. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,249), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.66 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Heacock.
Has Heacock become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Heacock went from 2,194 recorded bearers to 1,961. That is a decrease of 233 (-10.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,786 to #14,586.
What does the Census say about the background of Heacock?
Among Census respondents with the surname Heacock, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Heacock in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.6% (1,758 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Heacock appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.6%), Hispanic (4.3%), Two or More Races (3.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Heacock (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Heacock mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a haycock maker, one who rakes hay into piles for drying. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Heacock (0.66 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Heacock?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.