2000
#121,780
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 131
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Heibert
A Germanic surname derived from words meaning "bright" or "famous warrior".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 133 Americans carry the last name Heibert. That puts it at #145,028 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,577,100 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Heibert 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
133
1 in 2,577,100
Census rank
#145,028
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
116
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 116 bearers of the surname Heibert in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145028th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Heibert, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are Black (0.9%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Heibert
The surname Heibert has its origins in Germany, where it first appeared in the late 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German words "hei," meaning "hay" or "hare," and "bert," a common name element meaning "bright" or "famous." This suggests the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a hay field or worked with hay.
One of the earliest known records of the name Heibert can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, dating back to 1296. Here, a certain "Heinrich Heibert" is mentioned as a landowner in the village of Döbeln.
In the 15th century, the name appears in various spellings, including "Heybert," "Haibert," and "Heybarth," in church records and municipal documents across various regions of Germany. These variants reflect the fluidity of spelling conventions during that era.
A notable bearer of the name was Hans Heibert, a 16th-century master baker from Nuremberg, who is credited with popularizing the traditional Nuremberg gingerbread recipe. His bakery, established in 1542, remained in operation for over two centuries.
Another historical figure with the surname Heibert was Johann Heibert, a 17th-century Lutheran theologian and author from Saxony. He published several works on theology and church history, including "Historiae Ecclesiasticae Compendium" in 1673.
In the 18th century, the name Heibert can be found in various town and village records across Germany, including mentions of families with this surname in places like Hessen, Saxony, and Bavaria. One notable example is Friedrich Heibert, a prominent clockmaker from Schmalkalden, who was praised for his intricate timepieces in the mid-1700s.
Moving into the 19th century, one of the most notable Heiberts was Karl Heibert, a German composer and music educator born in 1822 in Saxony. He composed numerous works for choir and orchestra and taught music at the prestigious Dresden Conservatory.
The name Heibert has also been associated with several place names in Germany, such as Heibert's Feld (Heibert's Field) and Heibert's Hof (Heibert's Farm), further reflecting the name's historical roots and connections to rural areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heibert
Among Census respondents with the surname Heibert, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are Black (0.9%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Heibert 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 Heibert surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.3% · 114
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Heibert
Heibert 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
#156,044
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-27 bearers (-20.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 34,264 places
2020
#145,028
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
+12 bearers (+11.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 11,016 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #121,780 | 131 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #156,044 | 104 | 0.04 | -27 bearers (-20.6%) | Down 34,264 places |
| 2020 | #145,028 | 116 | 0.04 | +12 bearers (+11.5%) | Up 11,016 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 Heibert 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 | #156,044 | #145,028 | 7.1% |
| Count | 104 | 116 | 11.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Heibert bearers went from 104 to 116 (+11.5% change). The surname moved up 11,016 positions in the national ranking, going from #156,044 to #145,028.
FAQ
Heibert surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Heibert?
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the surname Heibert. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,577,100 residents.
How common is Heibert?
Heibert ranks #145,028 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 116 people with the surname Heibert. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (133), 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 Heibert.
Has Heibert become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Heibert went from 104 recorded bearers to 116. That is an increase of 12 (+11.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #156,044 to #145,028.
What does the Census say about the background of Heibert?
Among Census respondents with the surname Heibert, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are Black (0.9%) and Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Heibert in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.3% (114 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Heibert appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.3%), Black (0.9%), Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Heibert (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 Heibert mean?
A Germanic surname derived from words meaning "bright" or "famous warrior". 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 Heibert (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 Heibert?
Want to know how common the surname Heibert is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.