2000
#42,529
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 480
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.18
Very Rare Last name
Heick
An anglicized spelling of the German surname Heck, derived from a geographical name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 592 Americans carry the last name Heick. That puts it at #44,751 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.17 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 578,977 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Heick 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
592
1 in 578,977
Census rank
#44,751
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
516
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 516 bearers of the surname Heick in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.17 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 44751st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Heick, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Heick
The surname HEICK is of German origin and dates back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated in the region of Saxony, where it was derived from the Old German word "heich", meaning "hay". This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational surname for a farmer or someone who worked with hay.
The earliest recorded instances of the name HEICK can be found in church records and local documents from the town of Grimma, near Leipzig, in the late 1500s. In these records, the name is sometimes spelled "Heicke" or "Heycke", reflecting the variations in spelling that were common before standardized spelling conventions were established.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name HEICK was Hans Heick, a farmer who was born in Grimma around 1570. Another early record mentions a Johann Heick, a merchant from the town of Borna, who was born in 1605.
By the 17th century, the name HEICK had spread to other parts of Germany, as evidenced by the birth of Christian Heick in Hamburg in 1630. In the 18th century, the name appeared in various records from the regions of Saxony, Thuringia, and Brandenburg.
One notable bearer of the HEICK surname was Carl Gottlieb Heick, a German theologian and philosopher who lived from 1779 to 1853. He was born in Merseburg and wrote several influential works on theology and ethics.
Another figure of historical significance was Friedrich Heick, a German painter and illustrator who was born in Dresden in 1820 and died in 1898. He is known for his landscapes and illustrations of German folklore.
In the 19th century, the name HEICK also appeared in records from other parts of Europe, likely due to migration and the spread of German settlers. For example, there are records of individuals with the surname HEICK in Poland and the Czech Republic during this period.
Overall, the surname HEICK has a rich history rooted in the German regions of Saxony and Thuringia, and it has been carried by farmers, merchants, scholars, and artists over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heick
Among Census respondents with the surname Heick, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%) and Hispanic (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Heick 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 Heick surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.9% · 469
- Two or more races5.0% · 26
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Heick
Heick 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
#41,799
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 520
+40 bearers (+8.3%)
Per 100,000 0.18
Rank movement Up 730 places
2020
#44,751
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 516
-4 bearers (-0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.17
Rank movement Down 2,952 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #42,529 | 480 | 0.18 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #41,799 | 520 | 0.18 | +40 bearers (+8.3%) | Up 730 places |
| 2020 | #44,751 | 516 | 0.17 | -4 bearers (-0.8%) | Down 2,952 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 Heick 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 | #41,799 | #44,751 | -7.1% |
| Count | 520 | 516 | -0.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.18 | 0.17 | -4.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Heick bearers went from 520 to 516 (-0.8% change). The surname moved down 2,952 positions in the national ranking, going from #41,799 to #44,751.
FAQ
Heick surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Heick?
Name Census estimates that about 592 living Americans carry the surname Heick. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 578,977 residents.
How common is Heick?
Heick ranks #44,751 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.17 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 516 people with the surname Heick. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (592), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.17 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.17 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 Heick.
Has Heick become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Heick went from 520 recorded bearers to 516. That is a decrease of 4 (-0.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #41,799 to #44,751.
What does the Census say about the background of Heick?
Among Census respondents with the surname Heick, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%) and Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Heick in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (469 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Heick appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.9%), Two or More Races (5.0%), Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Heick (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 Heick mean?
An anglicized spelling of the German surname Heck, derived from a geographical name. 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 Heick (0.17 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 surname Heick?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.