2000
#88,825
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 194
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.07
Very Rare Last name
Hechinger
A German surname derived from the Middle High German word "hechin", meaning "to thresh".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 202 Americans carry the last name Hechinger. That puts it at #107,521 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,696,804 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hechinger 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
202
1 in 1,696,804
Census rank
#107,521
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
176
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 176 bearers of the surname Hechinger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 107521st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hechinger, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.1%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hechinger
The surname HECHINGER is of German origin, originating in the regions of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the German word "hechingen," which refers to a town in the Zollernalbkreis district of Baden-Württemberg. The name likely originated as a toponymic surname, indicating that the bearer or their ancestors were from or lived in the town of Hechingen.
The earliest recorded instance of the surname HECHINGER can be traced back to the 14th century, when it appeared in various legal documents and local records. In the late 15th century, the name was mentioned in the Hechinger Chronik, a chronicle documenting the history of the town of Hechingen and its surrounding areas.
One notable individual with the surname HECHINGER was Johann Friedrich Hechinger (1736-1808), a German theologian and philosopher who served as a professor at the University of Tübingen. His works focused on ethics and moral philosophy, and he made significant contributions to the intellectual discourse of his time.
Another prominent figure with this surname was Maximilian Hechinger (1854-1919), a German entrepreneur and industrialist who founded the Hechinger Company, a successful chain of hardware stores in the United States. The company's first store was established in Washington, D.C., in 1911, and it eventually grew to become one of the largest home improvement retailers in the country.
In the field of literature, Hanna Hechinger (1886-1968) was a notable German-American author and playwright. She wrote several novels and plays that explored themes of immigration, cultural identity, and the experiences of German-Americans in the early 20th century.
Friedrich Hechinger (1856-1928), a German-born American architect, left his mark on the architectural landscape of New York City. He designed several notable buildings, including the former German Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Matthew on Staten Island and the Schwaben-Haus, a cultural center for the German-American community in New York.
The surname HECHINGER has also been associated with various place names and alternative spellings throughout its history. For example, the town of Hechingen was previously known as "Hechingen an der Starzel" or "Hechingen an der Starzell," reflecting its location along the Starzel River. Additionally, variations of the surname, such as Hechinger, Hechiger, and Hechiger, have been documented in different regions and time periods.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hechinger
Among Census respondents with the surname Hechinger, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.1%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Hechinger 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 Hechinger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.9% · 153
- Hispanic or Latino9.1% · 16
- Two or more races2.3% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hechinger
Hechinger 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
#104,602
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 171
-23 bearers (-11.9%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Down 15,777 places
2020
#107,521
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 176
+5 bearers (+2.9%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Down 2,919 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #88,825 | 194 | 0.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #104,602 | 171 | 0.06 | -23 bearers (-11.9%) | Down 15,777 places |
| 2020 | #107,521 | 176 | 0.06 | +5 bearers (+2.9%) | Down 2,919 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 Hechinger 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 | #104,602 | #107,521 | -2.8% |
| Count | 171 | 176 | 2.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.06 | 0.06 | -1.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hechinger bearers went from 171 to 176 (+2.9% change). The surname moved down 2,919 positions in the national ranking, going from #104,602 to #107,521.
FAQ
Hechinger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hechinger?
Name Census estimates that about 202 living Americans carry the surname Hechinger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,696,804 residents.
How common is Hechinger?
Hechinger ranks #107,521 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.06 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 176 people with the surname Hechinger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (202), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.06 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 Hechinger.
Has Hechinger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hechinger went from 171 recorded bearers to 176. That is an increase of 5 (+2.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #104,602 to #107,521.
What does the Census say about the background of Hechinger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hechinger, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.1%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Hechinger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.9% (153 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hechinger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.9%), Hispanic (9.1%), Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Hechinger (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 Hechinger mean?
A German surname derived from the Middle High German word "hechin", meaning "to thresh". 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 Hechinger (0.06 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 are called Hechinger?
Want to know how common the surname Hechinger is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.