2000
#102,173
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 163
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Heineke
A German surname derived from the diminutive form of the given name Heinrich.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 167 Americans carry the last name Heineke. That puts it at #123,817 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,052,421 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Heineke 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
167
1 in 2,052,421
Census rank
#123,817
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
146
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 146 bearers of the surname Heineke in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 123817th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Heineke, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Heineke
The surname HEINEKE originated in Germany during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old German word "hein," which means "home" or "homestead." The name likely referred to someone who lived in a particular home or homestead, or someone who was a landowner or proprietor.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name HEINEKE can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval German charters and documents dating back to the 11th century. In this record, a man named Heinricus Heineke is mentioned as a landowner in the region of Saxony.
Another notable early reference to the name HEINEKE is in the Liber Vitae, a medieval manuscript from the 12th century that recorded the names of members of religious orders and benefactors. In this document, a monk named Frater Heineke is listed as a member of the Benedictine order.
In the 13th century, there are records of a knight named Ritter Heineke von Braunschweig, who served under the Duke of Brunswick. This suggests that the name HEINEKE was also used by members of the nobility during this time period.
The name HEINEKE is also associated with several notable figures throughout history. One example is Johannes Heineke (1495-1561), a German theologian and reformer who was a follower of Martin Luther and played a role in the Protestant Reformation.
Another individual with the surname HEINEKE was Gottfried Heineke (1699-1769), a German jurist and diplomat who served as a representative of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg in various European courts.
In the 19th century, Carl Heineke (1836-1904) was a German architect and urban planner who designed several important buildings in Berlin and other German cities.
The surname HEINEKE has also been associated with various place names and locations in Germany, such as the town of Heineken in Lower Saxony, which likely derived its name from the surname.
While the surname HEINEKE is most commonly found in Germany, it has also been recorded in other parts of Europe and the world, likely due to migration and dispersal of families over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heineke
Among Census respondents with the surname Heineke, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Heineke 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 Heineke surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.3% · 145
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Heineke
Heineke 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
#115,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 151
-12 bearers (-7.4%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 13,466 places
2020
#123,817
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 146
-5 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 8,178 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #102,173 | 163 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #115,639 | 151 | 0.05 | -12 bearers (-7.4%) | Down 13,466 places |
| 2020 | #123,817 | 146 | 0.05 | -5 bearers (-3.3%) | Down 8,178 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 Heineke 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 | #115,639 | #123,817 | -7.1% |
| Count | 151 | 146 | -3.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.05 | -2.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Heineke bearers went from 151 to 146 (-3.3% change). The surname moved down 8,178 positions in the national ranking, going from #115,639 to #123,817.
FAQ
Heineke surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Heineke?
Name Census estimates that about 167 living Americans carry the surname Heineke. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,052,421 residents.
How common is Heineke?
Heineke ranks #123,817 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.05 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 146 people with the surname Heineke. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (167), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.05 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 Heineke.
Has Heineke become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Heineke went from 151 recorded bearers to 146. That is a decrease of 5 (-3.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #115,639 to #123,817.
What does the Census say about the background of Heineke?
Among Census respondents with the surname Heineke, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (0.7%). 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 Heineke in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.3% (145 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Heineke appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.3%), Hispanic (0.7%). 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 Heineke (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 Heineke mean?
A German surname derived from the diminutive form of the given name Heinrich. 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 Heineke (0.05 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 are called Heineke?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Heineke at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.