Find out how popular the last name Hein is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Hein.

Hein, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Hein surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hein in America

Hein is the 2865th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hein surname appeared 12,586 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Hein.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hein to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Hein

The surname Hein is of German origin and derived from the personal name Hein, which is a diminutive or pet form of the Germanic name Heinrich. The name Heinrich is composed of the elements "heim" meaning home and "ric" meaning power or ruler.

The earliest recorded examples of the surname Hein date back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany. One of the earliest recorded instances was in 1292 when a Heinricus Hein was mentioned in records from the town of Göttingen.

In the 14th century, there are references to a Conradus dictus Hein, recorded in 1348 in the town of Worms. The "dictus" (meaning "called") indicates that Hein was likely a nickname or surname at that time.

The Hein surname also appeared in various medieval manuscripts and records, such as the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a collection of documents from the former Principality of Anhalt, where a Nikolaus Hein was mentioned in 1438.

One notable person with the surname Hein was Johannes Hein (c. 1510-1582), a German Protestant theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the Reformation movement. He was a close associate of Martin Luther and served as a pastor in several cities, including Wittenberg.

Another individual of note was Johann Hein (1588-1647), a German composer and organist who was active in the early Baroque period. He is known for his contributions to the development of the chorale and organ music in Germany.

In the 19th century, Carl Hein (1808-1857) was a German landscape painter and etcher, known for his depictions of the Bavarian Alps and the areas around Munich.

The surname Hein also has connections to place names, such as the village of Heinbach in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, which likely derived its name from a person named Hein who lived or owned land in that area.

Overall, the surname Hein has a long history in German-speaking regions, with its origins dating back to the medieval period and associated with the personal name Heinrich and its diminutive form Hein.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hein

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Hein.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Hein was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Hein has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Hein was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Hein, please contact us.

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