2000
#11,307
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,564
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.95
Rare Last name
Heinemann
A German occupational surname referring to a person who lived or worked at a home or shelter.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,769 Americans carry the last name Heinemann. That puts it at #12,296 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.81 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 123,783 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Heinemann 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 Heinemann with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.8K
1 in 123,783
Census rank
#12,296
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,415 bearers of the surname Heinemann in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.81 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12296th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Heinemann, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Heinemann
The surname Heinemann originates from the German language and has its roots in the late medieval period, roughly between the 12th and 15th centuries. It is derived from the personal name Heine, which itself is a diminutive form of the Germanic name Haimo or Heimo. The suffix "-mann" was added to indicate a person or individual, effectively translating to "Heine's man" or "man belonging to Heine."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Traditionum Westfalicarum, a 13th-century manuscript that documented land transfers and ownership in the Westphalia region of present-day Germany. The name is spelled as "Heineman" in this source, reflecting the fluidity of spelling conventions during that era.
In the 14th century, the name appears in various forms, such as "Heyneman" and "Heynemann," in municipal records from cities like Cologne and Aachen. These records often referred to craftsmen, merchants, or landowners, suggesting that the name was already established among the urban population.
One notable bearer of the name was Heinrich Heinemann, a 15th-century scholar and humanist from the city of Bautzen, in what is now eastern Germany. He was born around 1450 and is known for his Latin translations of works by ancient Greek philosophers.
In the 16th century, the Heinemann surname can be found in various regions of Germany, including Saxony and Brandenburg. One example is Hans Heinemann, a Protestant reformer and theologian from Mühlhausen, Thuringia, who lived from 1495 to 1561.
During the 17th century, the name continued to spread across German-speaking territories, with instances recorded in places like Westphalia, Hesse, and Silesia. Johann Georg Heinemann, a Lutheran pastor and theologian from Lüneburg, lived from 1624 to 1688 and authored several religious works.
As the name spread and became more common, it also appeared in various place names across Germany, such as Heinemann's Mühle (Heinemann's Mill) in Saxony-Anhalt and Heinemann's Hof (Heinemann's Farm) in Lower Saxony.
Other notable individuals with the surname Heinemann include Johann Christian Heinemann, a 19th-century German astronomer and mathematician from Hildesheim (1773-1843), and Karl Heinemann, a German philosopher and literary critic from Leipzig (1857-1938).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heinemann
Among Census respondents with the surname Heinemann, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Heinemann 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 Heinemann surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.4% · 2,255
- Two or more races2.7% · 64
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 62
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 23
- Black or African American0.3% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Heinemann
Heinemann 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
#9,552
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,403
+839 bearers (+32.7%)
Per 100,000 1.15
Rank movement Up 1,755 places
2020
#12,296
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,415
-988 bearers (-29.0%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Down 2,744 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,307 | 2,564 | 0.95 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,552 | 3,403 | 1.15 | +839 bearers (+32.7%) | Up 1,755 places |
| 2020 | #12,296 | 2,415 | 0.81 | -988 bearers (-29.0%) | Down 2,744 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 Heinemann 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 | #9,552 | #12,296 | -28.7% |
| Count | 3,403 | 2,415 | -29.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.15 | 0.81 | -29.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Heinemann bearers went from 3,403 to 2,415 (-29.0% change). The surname moved down 2,744 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,552 to #12,296.
FAQ
Heinemann surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Heinemann?
Name Census estimates that about 2,769 living Americans carry the surname Heinemann. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 123,783 residents.
How common is Heinemann?
Heinemann ranks #12,296 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.81 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 2,415 people with the surname Heinemann. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,769), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.81 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.81 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 Heinemann.
Has Heinemann become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Heinemann went from 3,403 recorded bearers to 2,415. That is a decrease of 988 (-29.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,552 to #12,296.
What does the Census say about the background of Heinemann?
Among Census respondents with the surname Heinemann, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Heinemann in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.4% (2,255 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Heinemann appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.4%), Two or More Races (2.7%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Heinemann (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 Heinemann mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a person who lived or worked at a home or shelter. 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 Heinemann (0.81 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 Heinemann?
If you just want to know how many people are called Heinemann, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.