2000
#6,258
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,023
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.86
Rare Last name
Heine
Derived from the German name Heinrich, meaning "home ruler" or "ruler of the household."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,376 Americans carry the last name Heine. That puts it at #6,906 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.57 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 63,756 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Heine 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Heine with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.4K
1 in 63,756
Census rank
#6,906
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,688 bearers of the surname Heine in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.57 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6906th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Heine, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Heine
The surname HEINE has its origins in Germany, where it first emerged in the medieval period. It is a topographic name, derived from the Old High German word "hag" or "hain," meaning "hedge," "grove," or "thicket." This suggests that the name was originally given to someone who lived near a hedgerow or wooded area.
The name is found in various historical records from the 13th century onwards, including the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of medieval documents relating to the Margraviate of Brandenburg. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is in 1295, when a certain Henricus dictus Heine (Henry called Heine) is mentioned in a document from the city of Cologne.
In the 14th century, the name appears in various forms, such as Heyne, Heyn, and Hein, reflecting regional variations in spelling and pronunciation. One notable bearer of the name from this period was Johann Heine (c. 1350-1420), a German theologian and preacher who served as the rector of the University of Erfurt.
During the Renaissance, the name continued to be associated with scholars and intellectuals. Heinrich Heine (1797-1856), a German poet and essayist, is perhaps the most famous bearer of the surname. His works, including "Die Harzreise" and "Buch der Lieder," have had a lasting influence on German literature.
Other notable individuals with the surname HEINE include Jakob Heine (1800-1880), a German businessman and founder of the Heine clothing company; Carl Heine (1819-1888), a German obstetrician who invented several medical instruments; and Rudolf Heine (1882-1949), a German sculptor known for his bronze statues and monuments.
The name HEINE has also been associated with various places in Germany, such as Heine, a district in the city of Dortmund, and Heine, a village in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. These place names likely derived from the same Old High German root as the surname, further reinforcing the topographic connection.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heine
Among Census respondents with the surname Heine, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Heine 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 Heine surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.9% · 4,213
- Two or more races3.4% · 158
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.3% · 157
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 124
- Black or African American0.5% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Heine
Heine 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
#6,681
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,054
+31 bearers (+0.6%)
Per 100,000 1.71
Rank movement Down 423 places
2020
#6,906
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,688
-366 bearers (-7.2%)
Per 100,000 1.57
Rank movement Down 225 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,258 | 5,023 | 1.86 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,681 | 5,054 | 1.71 | +31 bearers (+0.6%) | Down 423 places |
| 2020 | #6,906 | 4,688 | 1.57 | -366 bearers (-7.2%) | Down 225 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 Heine 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 | #6,681 | #6,906 | -3.4% |
| Count | 5,054 | 4,688 | -7.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.71 | 1.57 | -8.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Heine bearers went from 5,054 to 4,688 (-7.2% change). The surname moved down 225 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,681 to #6,906.
FAQ
Heine surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Heine?
Name Census estimates that about 5,376 living Americans carry the surname Heine. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 63,756 residents.
How common is Heine?
Heine ranks #6,906 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.57 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,688 people with the surname Heine. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,376), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.57 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.57 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Heine.
Has Heine become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Heine went from 5,054 recorded bearers to 4,688. That is a decrease of 366 (-7.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,681 to #6,906.
What does the Census say about the background of Heine?
Among Census respondents with the surname Heine, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (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 Heine in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.9% (4,213 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Heine appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.9%), Two or More Races (3.4%), Asian/Pacific Islander (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 Heine (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 Heine mean?
Derived from the German name Heinrich, meaning "home ruler" or "ruler of the household." 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 Heine (1.57 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 common is the surname Heine?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Heine at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.