2000
#141,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Hehmeyer
A German surname meaning "haymaker" or "one who works in the hayfields."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Hehmeyer. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hehmeyer 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
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Hehmeyer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hehmeyer, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hehmeyer
The surname HEHMEYER is of German origin and dates back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated in the region of Lower Saxony, particularly around the cities of Hanover and Bremen. The name is derived from the Old High German words "hehhi" meaning "hay" and "meier" meaning "farm steward" or "overseer." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this surname were likely employed as farm managers or supervisors who oversaw the harvesting and storage of hay crops.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the HEHMEYER name can be found in the parish records of St. Michael's Church in Hanover, where a Henrich Hehmeyer was listed as a resident in 1583. Another early reference comes from the town of Lingen, where a Johann Hehmeyer was mentioned in a land deed from 1612.
During the 17th century, the name appeared in various spellings, such as Hehmeier, Heimeyer, and Heymeyer, reflecting the regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions of the time. In the nearby town of Osnabrück, a merchant named Hermann Hehmeyer is recorded as having traded in wool and textiles in the 1670s.
One notable bearer of the HEHMEYER name was Johann Christian Hehmeyer (1688-1756), a Lutheran pastor and theologian who served in the village of Hagen, near Osnabrück. His published works include "Commentarius in Evangelium Johannis" (Commentary on the Gospel of John), which was widely studied in theological circles of the time.
Another individual of note was Friedrich Wilhelm Hehmeyer (1792-1867), a German painter and engraver who specialized in landscapes and architectural scenes. Born in Hanover, he studied at the Düsseldorf Academy of Art and later became a member of the Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin.
In the 19th century, the HEHMEYER name spread beyond its original German homeland as families emigrated to other parts of Europe and North America. One such individual was Heinrich Hehmeyer (1832-1905), a farmer who left Hanover and settled in the Russian Empire, where he established a successful agricultural enterprise near the city of Odessa.
While the HEHMEYER surname is still found predominantly in Germany, it has also gained a foothold in various other countries due to migration and diaspora over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hehmeyer
Among Census respondents with the surname Hehmeyer, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Hehmeyer 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 Hehmeyer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.2% · 106
- Two or more races2.8% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hehmeyer
Hehmeyer 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
#153,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-2 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 11,981 places
2020
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
+3 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 3,564 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #141,788 | 108 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.9%) | Down 11,981 places |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.8%) | Up 3,564 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 Hehmeyer 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 | #153,769 | #150,205 | 2.3% |
| Count | 106 | 109 | 2.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hehmeyer bearers went from 106 to 109 (+2.8% change). The surname moved up 3,564 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #150,205.
FAQ
Hehmeyer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hehmeyer?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Hehmeyer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Hehmeyer?
Hehmeyer ranks #150,205 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 109 people with the surname Hehmeyer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), 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 Hehmeyer.
Has Hehmeyer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hehmeyer went from 106 recorded bearers to 109. That is an increase of 3 (+2.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #153,769 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Hehmeyer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hehmeyer, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Hehmeyer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.2% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hehmeyer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.2%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Hehmeyer (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 Hehmeyer mean?
A German surname meaning "haymaker" or "one who works in the hayfields." 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 Hehmeyer (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 are called Hehmeyer?
See how many people have the surname Hehmeyer on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.