2000
#14,283
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,924
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.71
Rare Last name
Heilig
A surname derived from the German word meaning "holy" or "sacred".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,074 Americans carry the last name Heilig. That puts it at #15,558 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 165,262 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Heilig 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
2.1K
1 in 165,262
Census rank
#15,558
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,809 bearers of the surname Heilig in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15558th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Heilig, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.8%. The next largest groups are Black (4.5%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Heilig
The surname HEILIG is of German origin, derived from the Old German word "heilig" meaning "holy" or "sacred." It is believed to have originated in the regions of Bavaria and Austria, where it was first recorded in the 13th century.
One of the earliest documented instances of the HEILIG surname can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical records from Saxony, dated to the year 1297. This record mentions a "Conradus Heilig" from the town of Meissen.
During the medieval period, the HEILIG surname was often associated with individuals who had religious occupations or were involved in church-related activities. It is possible that the name was originally bestowed upon a person who was considered particularly devout or engaged in sacred duties.
In the 15th century, a notable figure bearing the HEILIG surname was Johannes Heilig, a German theologian and reformer who lived from 1440 to 1516. He was a prominent figure in the early stages of the Protestant Reformation and authored several influential works on religious doctrine.
Another significant bearer of the HEILIG name was Johann Peter Heilig, a German astronomer and mathematician born in 1660. He made important contributions to the field of celestial mechanics and published several treatises on astronomical observations.
In the 18th century, Friedrich Christian Heilig, a German composer and organist, gained recognition for his compositions and performances. He was born in 1737 and served as the court organist for the Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.
The HEILIG surname has also been associated with various place names throughout Germany and Austria, such as Heiligenberg (meaning "Holy Mountain") and Heiligenstadt (meaning "Holy City"), reflecting the religious connotations of the name.
It is worth noting that the HEILIG surname has undergone various spelling variations over the centuries, including Heilig, Heylig, Heylich, and Heilich, among others. These variations were often influenced by regional dialects and scribal conventions of the time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heilig
Among Census respondents with the surname Heilig, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.8%. The next largest groups are Black (4.5%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Heilig 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 Heilig surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.8% · 1,607
- Black or African American4.5% · 82
- Two or more races3.3% · 60
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 44
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Heilig
Heilig 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
#15,533
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,884
-40 bearers (-2.1%)
Per 100,000 0.64
Rank movement Down 1,250 places
2020
#15,558
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,809
-75 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 0.61
Rank movement Down 25 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,283 | 1,924 | 0.71 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,533 | 1,884 | 0.64 | -40 bearers (-2.1%) | Down 1,250 places |
| 2020 | #15,558 | 1,809 | 0.61 | -75 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 25 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 Heilig 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 | #15,533 | #15,558 | -0.2% |
| Count | 1,884 | 1,809 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.64 | 0.61 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Heilig bearers went from 1,884 to 1,809 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 25 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,533 to #15,558.
FAQ
Heilig surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Heilig?
Name Census estimates that about 2,074 living Americans carry the surname Heilig. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 165,262 residents.
How common is Heilig?
Heilig ranks #15,558 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.61 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 1,809 people with the surname Heilig. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,074), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.61 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 Heilig.
Has Heilig become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Heilig went from 1,884 recorded bearers to 1,809. That is a decrease of 75 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #15,533 to #15,558.
What does the Census say about the background of Heilig?
Among Census respondents with the surname Heilig, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.8%. The next largest groups are Black (4.5%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Heilig in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.8% (1,607 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Heilig appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.8%), Black (4.5%), Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Heilig (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 Heilig mean?
A surname derived from the German word meaning "holy" or "sacred". 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 Heilig (0.61 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 Heilig?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.