2010
#159,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Hebig
A German surname meaning "fat" or "corpulent".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 115 Americans carry the last name Hebig. That puts it at #155,682 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,980,473 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hebig 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
115
1 in 2,980,473
Census rank
#155,682
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
100
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 100 bearers of the surname Hebig in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155682nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hebig, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.0%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hebig
The surname HEBIG is of German origin, tracing its roots back to the 14th century. It is believed to have originated in the southern regions of Germany, particularly in the areas around Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.
The name HEBIG is thought to be derived from the Old German word "heben," meaning "to raise" or "to lift." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to an occupation or a physical characteristic. It could have been associated with someone who worked in a trade that involved lifting heavy objects, or it could have described a person of tall stature.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name HEBIG can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval documents from the 14th century. The name appears in a document from the year 1362, referring to a man named Hans Hebig, a farmer from a small village near Nuremberg.
In the 16th century, the name HEBIG appeared in the records of the Reichskammergericht, the Imperial Chamber Court of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1527, a merchant named Jakob Hebig was involved in a legal dispute over a shipment of goods from the Netherlands.
Notable individuals with the surname HEBIG include:
1. Johann Hebig (1660-1734), a German theologian and author from Saxony.
2. Anna Maria Hebig (1730-1798), a renowned German botanist and naturalist from Ansbach.
3. Friedrich Hebig (1805-1872), a German painter known for his landscape works, born in Nuremberg.
4. Heinrich Hebig (1841-1919), a German architect who designed several notable buildings in Munich.
5. Konrad Hebig (1898-1976), a German-American artist and sculptor known for his works depicting Native American culture.
The name HEBIG can also be found in various place names and locations throughout Germany, such as Hebigdorf, a small village in Bavaria, and Hebigbach, a stream in the Black Forest region of Baden-Württemberg. These places may have derived their names from individuals bearing the surname HEBIG who lived or settled in those areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hebig
Among Census respondents with the surname Hebig, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.0%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Hebig 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 Hebig surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.0% · 98
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hebig
Hebig appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#155,682
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
-1 bearers (-1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 4,030 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #159,712 | 101 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #155,682 | 100 | 0.03 | -1 bearers (-1.0%) | Up 4,030 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 Hebig 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 | #159,712 | #155,682 | 2.5% |
| Count | 101 | 100 | -1.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 11.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hebig bearers went from 101 to 100 (-1.0% change). The surname moved up 4,030 positions in the national ranking, going from #159,712 to #155,682.
FAQ
Hebig surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hebig?
Name Census estimates that about 115 living Americans carry the surname Hebig. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,980,473 residents.
How common is Hebig?
Hebig ranks #155,682 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 100 people with the surname Hebig. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (115), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Hebig.
Has Hebig become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hebig went from 101 recorded bearers to 100. That is a decrease of 1 (-1.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #159,712 to #155,682.
What does the Census say about the background of Hebig?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hebig, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.0%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%). 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 Hebig in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.0% (98 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hebig appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.0%), American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%). 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 Hebig (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 Hebig mean?
A German surname meaning "fat" or "corpulent". 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 Hebig (0.03 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 have the last name Hebig?
Find out how many people have the surname Hebig on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.