2000
#105,374
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 157
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Heberger
A surname derived from the German word "Herberge" meaning an inn or lodging house.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Heberger. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Heberger 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.
Bearers in the US
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Heberger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Heberger, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Heberger
The surname Heberger is of German origin and dates back to the 13th century. It is derived from the German word "herberge," which means "inn" or "lodging." The name likely referred to an innkeeper or someone who provided lodging for travelers.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Heberger can be found in the town of Nuremberg, Germany, in the year 1298. A man named Hans Heberger was listed as a resident of the town in a historical record.
In the 15th century, the Heberger name appeared in the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, located in the Franconian region of Germany. A family of innkeepers with the surname Heberger operated a well-known inn in the town during this time period.
The first known Heberger to immigrate to America was Johann Heberger, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1752. He settled in the area that is now known as Berks County and established a farm.
In the 19th century, a notable Heberger was Johann Friedrich Heberger (1792-1868), a German botanist and physician. He authored several books on medicinal plants and their uses in traditional medicine.
Another significant figure with the Heberger surname was Karl Heberger (1836-1911), a German businessman and politician. He served as a member of the Reichstag, the national parliament of Germany, from 1884 to 1890.
In the 20th century, Heinrich Heberger (1901-1984) was a German architect known for his work in the Bauhaus style. He designed several notable buildings in Germany, including the Siemens headquarters in Munich.
While the Heberger name has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and Australia, due to migration and immigration patterns over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heberger
Among Census respondents with the surname Heberger, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Heberger 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 Heberger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.9% · 112
- Two or more races2.5% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Heberger
Heberger 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
#129,825
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 131
-26 bearers (-16.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 24,451 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
-13 bearers (-9.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,686 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #105,374 | 157 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #129,825 | 131 | 0.04 | -26 bearers (-16.6%) | Down 24,451 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | -13 bearers (-9.9%) | Down 13,686 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 Heberger 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 | #129,825 | #143,511 | -10.5% |
| Count | 131 | 118 | -9.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Heberger bearers went from 131 to 118 (-9.9% change). The surname moved down 13,686 positions in the national ranking, going from #129,825 to #143,511.
FAQ
Heberger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Heberger?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Heberger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Heberger?
Heberger ranks #143,511 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 118 people with the surname Heberger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Heberger.
Has Heberger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Heberger went from 131 recorded bearers to 118. That is a decrease of 13 (-9.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #129,825 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Heberger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Heberger, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (1.7%). 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 Heberger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.9% (112 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Heberger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.9%), Two or More Races (2.5%), Hispanic (1.7%). 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 Heberger (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 Heberger mean?
A surname derived from the German word "Herberge" meaning an inn or lodging house. 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 Heberger (0.04 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 Heberger?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.