2000
#54,269
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 356
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.13
Very Rare Last name
Heglund
A Scandinavian topographic surname derived from a place name meaning "hedged meadow".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 423 Americans carry the last name Heglund. That puts it at #59,236 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.12 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 810,294 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Heglund 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
423
1 in 810,294
Census rank
#59,236
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
369
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 369 bearers of the surname Heglund in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.12 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 59236th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Heglund, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Heglund
The surname Heglund is of Scandinavian origin, particularly from Sweden and Norway. It is believed to have originated in the late 16th or early 17th century. The name is derived from the Old Norse words "heg" meaning "hay" and "lund" meaning "grove" or "meadow". Therefore, the name likely referred to someone who lived in a meadow or area where hay was grown.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Swedish parish records from the late 1600s, where a man named Lars Heglund was mentioned as a resident of a village in Västergötland County. Another early record is from the Norwegian census of 1801, which lists a family with the surname Heglund living in the municipality of Bærum, near Oslo.
In the 19th century, the Heglund name appeared in various historical documents and records across Scandinavia. For instance, a man named Nils Heglund (1812-1887) was a prominent farmer and landowner in the Swedish province of Värmland. Another notable figure was Ingrid Heglund (1835-1912), a Norwegian writer and educator who published several books on folklore and traditional crafts.
One of the earliest known individuals with the Heglund surname was Olof Heglund (1620-1698), a Swedish farmer and landowner from the village of Hägglunda in Östergötland County. His descendants went on to establish themselves in various parts of Sweden and Norway.
Another early figure was Hans Heglund (1675-1742), a Norwegian merchant and ship owner who was based in the city of Bergen. He was involved in the lucrative trade between Norway and the Netherlands during the 18th century.
In more recent times, notable individuals with the Heglund surname include Gunnar Heglund (1903-1988), a Swedish architect known for his modernist designs, and Knut Heglund (1914-1996), a Norwegian journalist and author who wrote extensively about World War II and the Norwegian resistance movement.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heglund
Among Census respondents with the surname Heglund, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Heglund 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 Heglund surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.0% · 343
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 12
- Two or more races2.4% · 9
- Black or African American0.5% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Heglund
Heglund 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
#70,645
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 277
-79 bearers (-22.2%)
Per 100,000 0.09
Rank movement Down 16,376 places
2020
#59,236
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 369
+92 bearers (+33.2%)
Per 100,000 0.12
Rank movement Up 11,409 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #54,269 | 356 | 0.13 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #70,645 | 277 | 0.09 | -79 bearers (-22.2%) | Down 16,376 places |
| 2020 | #59,236 | 369 | 0.12 | +92 bearers (+33.2%) | Up 11,409 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 Heglund 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 | #70,645 | #59,236 | 16.1% |
| Count | 277 | 369 | 33.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.09 | 0.12 | 37.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Heglund bearers went from 277 to 369 (+33.2% change). The surname moved up 11,409 positions in the national ranking, going from #70,645 to #59,236.
FAQ
Heglund surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Heglund?
Name Census estimates that about 423 living Americans carry the surname Heglund. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 810,294 residents.
How common is Heglund?
Heglund ranks #59,236 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.12 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 369 people with the surname Heglund. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (423), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.12 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.12 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 Heglund.
Has Heglund become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Heglund went from 277 recorded bearers to 369. That is an increase of 92 (+33.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #70,645 to #59,236.
What does the Census say about the background of Heglund?
Among Census respondents with the surname Heglund, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Heglund in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (343 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Heglund appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.0%), Hispanic (3.3%), Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Heglund (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 Heglund mean?
A Scandinavian topographic surname derived from a place name meaning "hedged meadow". 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 Heglund (0.12 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 common is the surname Heglund?
Want to know how many people have the last name Heglund? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.