2000
#13,469
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,072
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.77
Rare Last name
Heidt
Derived from the Middle High German word "heide," referring to someone who lived on a heath or open field.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,347 Americans carry the last name Heidt. That puts it at #14,087 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.68 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 146,039 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Heidt 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
2.3K
1 in 146,039
Census rank
#14,087
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,047 bearers of the surname Heidt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.68 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14087th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Heidt, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Black (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Heidt
The surname Heidt originated in Germany during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old German word "heid," which means a heathland or uncultivated area of land overgrown with shrubs and small trees. This suggests that the name was initially a topographic name given to someone who lived near or worked on such terrain.
The earliest known record of the Heidt surname dates back to the 13th century in the region of Hesse, Germany. An entry in the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a collection of historical documents from the former Principality of Anhalt, mentions a "Johannes Heidt" in 1247.
During the 14th and 15th centuries, variations of the name, such as "Heid," "Heyde," and "Heydt," appeared in various historical records across central and southern Germany. For instance, the Deutsches Familiennamen-Lexikon (Dictionary of German Family Names) cites a "Heynrich Heyde" from Nuremberg in 1379.
One notable bearer of the Heidt name was Johann Heidt (1615-1662), a German composer and organist from Nuremberg. He is best known for his collection of chorale preludes and fugues, which were influential works in the development of the North German organ tradition.
Another prominent figure was Johann Ludwig Heidt (1726-1798), a German poet and writer from Hesse. He is remembered for his contributions to the literary movement known as the "Sturm und Drang" (Storm and Stress), which emphasized individualism and emotional expression.
In the 19th century, the Heidt surname can be found associated with several place names in Germany, such as Heidtshausen, a village in Rhineland-Palatinate, and Heidtsiedlung, a district in Cologne.
Theodor Heidt (1857-1923) was a German politician and journalist who served as a member of the Reichstag (Imperial Parliament) from 1893 to 1918, representing the Social Democratic Party of Germany.
Lastly, Hans Heidt (1896-1977) was a German aviator and World War I flying ace credited with 11 aerial victories. He served in the Imperial German Air Service and later became a successful businessman in the aviation industry.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heidt
Among Census respondents with the surname Heidt, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Black (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Heidt 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 Heidt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.3% · 1,807
- Black or African American3.7% · 75
- Two or more races3.5% · 72
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 69
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Heidt
Heidt 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
#11,843
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,643
+571 bearers (+27.6%)
Per 100,000 0.90
Rank movement Up 1,626 places
2020
#14,087
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,047
-596 bearers (-22.6%)
Per 100,000 0.68
Rank movement Down 2,244 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,469 | 2,072 | 0.77 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,843 | 2,643 | 0.90 | +571 bearers (+27.6%) | Up 1,626 places |
| 2020 | #14,087 | 2,047 | 0.68 | -596 bearers (-22.6%) | Down 2,244 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 Heidt 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 | #11,843 | #14,087 | -18.9% |
| Count | 2,643 | 2,047 | -22.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.90 | 0.68 | -23.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Heidt bearers went from 2,643 to 2,047 (-22.6% change). The surname moved down 2,244 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,843 to #14,087.
FAQ
Heidt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Heidt?
Name Census estimates that about 2,347 living Americans carry the surname Heidt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 146,039 residents.
How common is Heidt?
Heidt ranks #14,087 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.68 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,047 people with the surname Heidt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,347), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.68 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.68 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Heidt.
Has Heidt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Heidt went from 2,643 recorded bearers to 2,047. That is a decrease of 596 (-22.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,843 to #14,087.
What does the Census say about the background of Heidt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Heidt, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Black (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Heidt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.3% (1,807 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Heidt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.3%), Black (3.7%), Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Heidt (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 Heidt mean?
Derived from the Middle High German word "heide," referring to someone who lived on a heath or open field. 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 Heidt (0.68 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 Heidt?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.