2000
#129,619
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Heilbronner
A locational surname referring to someone originating from the German city of Heilbronn.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Heilbronner. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Heilbronner 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Heilbronner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Heilbronner, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Black (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Heilbronner
The surname Heilbronner is of German origin, deriving from the town of Heilbronn in the state of Baden-Württemberg. The name can be traced back to the 12th century, with the earliest known spelling being Heilbrunner, referring to someone from the town of Heilbronn.
Heilbronn was a significant town in the Middle Ages, situated along important trade routes. The town's name is derived from the German words "heil" meaning "healthy" and "brunnen" meaning "well" or "spring," suggesting the town was known for its healthy springs or wells.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Heilbronner can be found in the Codex Hirsaugiensis, a 12th-century manuscript from the Hirsau Abbey, which mentions a Heinricus Heilbrunner in 1165. The name also appears in various medieval records and documents from the region, such as the Heilbronn City Archives.
In the 16th century, a notable bearer of the name was Johann Heilbronner (1506-1570), a German theologian and reformer who played a role in the Protestant Reformation. He served as a minister in Heilbronn and was involved in the establishment of the Protestant church in the town.
Another prominent figure was Johann Christoph Heilbronner (1670-1737), a German jurist and legal scholar who served as a professor of law at the University of Tübingen. His works on Roman law and legal history were widely influential in his time.
In the 19th century, Karl Heilbronner (1819-1886) was a German architect and urban planner who played a significant role in the development of modern Heilbronn. He designed several notable buildings in the city, including the Wilhelmspalais and the Heilbronn Synagogue.
Among the more recent bearers of the name is Hans Robert Heilbronner (1899-1975), a German-American chemist and physicist who made important contributions to the field of quantum chemistry and the study of molecular orbitals.
Throughout history, the Heilbronner surname has been associated with individuals from diverse professions, including academics, clergy, architects, and scientists, many of whom had connections to the town of Heilbronn or its surrounding regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heilbronner
Among Census respondents with the surname Heilbronner, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Black (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Heilbronner 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 Heilbronner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.5% · 106
- Two or more races2.7% · 3
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Heilbronner
Heilbronner 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
#148,347
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-10 bearers (-8.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 18,728 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 318 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #129,619 | 121 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #148,347 | 111 | 0.04 | -10 bearers (-8.3%) | Down 18,728 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 318 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 Heilbronner 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 | #148,347 | #148,665 | -0.2% |
| Count | 111 | 111 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Heilbronner bearers went from 111 to 111 (+0.0% change). The surname moved down 318 positions in the national ranking, going from #148,347 to #148,665.
FAQ
Heilbronner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Heilbronner?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Heilbronner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Heilbronner?
Heilbronner ranks #148,665 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 111 people with the surname Heilbronner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), 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 Heilbronner.
Has Heilbronner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Heilbronner went from 111 recorded bearers to 111. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #148,347 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Heilbronner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Heilbronner, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Black (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 Heilbronner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.5% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Heilbronner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.5%), Two or More Races (2.7%), Black (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 Heilbronner (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 Heilbronner mean?
A locational surname referring to someone originating from the German city of Heilbronn. 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 Heilbronner (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 Americans have the surname Heilbronner?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.