2000
#140,756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Heinemeier
A surname of German origin meaning a landowner or keeper of a manor.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 111 Americans carry the last name Heinemeier. That puts it at #156,449 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,087,877 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Heinemeier 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
111
1 in 3,087,877
Census rank
#156,449
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
97
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 97 bearers of the surname Heinemeier in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156449th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Heinemeier, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.9%. The next largest groups are Black (1.0%) and Two or More Races (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Heinemeier
The surname Heinemeier has its origins in Germany, specifically in the northern regions. It likely emerged sometime during the Middle Ages, between the 5th and 15th centuries. The name is derived from the German words "hein" and "meier," where "hein" is a shortened form of a Germanic personal name like Heinrich or Hein, and "meier" refers to a bailiff, steward, or estate manager.
The earliest recorded instances of the Heinemeier surname appear in various medieval records and documents from northern Germany. For example, the name is mentioned in a land registry record from the town of Schleswig in the year 1412, referring to a certain Heinemeier family who owned farmland in the area.
One of the earliest known individuals with the Heinemeier surname was Hans Heinemeier, born around 1520 in the city of Lübeck. He was a prominent merchant and member of the city's guild system, dealing in textiles and spices imported from the Baltic region.
In the 17th century, a notable figure was Johann Heinemeier (1602-1678), a Lutheran theologian and professor at the University of Rostock. He authored several influential works on theology and Biblical exegesis, which were widely read and studied throughout German-speaking regions.
Another historical figure was Wilhelm Heinemeier (1824-1901), a German-born painter and illustrator who emigrated to the United States in the mid-19th century. He is known for his detailed landscape paintings depicting scenes from the American West and the Rocky Mountains.
The Heinemeier surname also has a presence in the historical records of the Netherlands, likely due to migration from northern Germany. One noteworthy individual was Pieter Heinemeier (1718-1792), a Dutch merchant and shipowner based in Amsterdam. He played a significant role in the city's thriving maritime trade during the 18th century.
In more recent times, one of the most well-known individuals with the Heinemeier surname was Hans Heinemeier (1910-1996), a Danish nuclear physicist and pioneer in the field of radiocarbon dating. His groundbreaking work in developing and refining the radiocarbon dating technique revolutionized the field of archaeology and contributed to a better understanding of the Earth's history and prehistory.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heinemeier
Among Census respondents with the surname Heinemeier, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.9%. The next largest groups are Black (1.0%) and Two or More Races (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Heinemeier 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 Heinemeier surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.9% · 95
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
- Two or more races1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Heinemeier
Heinemeier 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
#147,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
+3 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,497 places
2020
#156,449
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 97
-15 bearers (-13.4%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 9,196 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #140,756 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #147,253 | 112 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.8%) | Down 6,497 places |
| 2020 | #156,449 | 97 | 0.03 | -15 bearers (-13.4%) | Down 9,196 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 Heinemeier 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 | #147,253 | #156,449 | -6.2% |
| Count | 112 | 97 | -13.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -18.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Heinemeier bearers went from 112 to 97 (-13.4% change). The surname moved down 9,196 positions in the national ranking, going from #147,253 to #156,449.
FAQ
Heinemeier surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Heinemeier?
Name Census estimates that about 111 living Americans carry the surname Heinemeier. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,087,877 residents.
How common is Heinemeier?
Heinemeier ranks #156,449 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 97 people with the surname Heinemeier. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (111), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Heinemeier.
Has Heinemeier become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Heinemeier went from 112 recorded bearers to 97. That is a decrease of 15 (-13.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #147,253 to #156,449.
What does the Census say about the background of Heinemeier?
Among Census respondents with the surname Heinemeier, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.9%. The next largest groups are Black (1.0%) and Two or More Races (1.0%). 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 Heinemeier in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.9% (95 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Heinemeier appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.9%), Black (1.0%), Two or More Races (1.0%). 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 Heinemeier (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 Heinemeier mean?
A surname of German origin meaning a landowner or keeper of a manor. 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 Heinemeier (0.03 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 Heinemeier?
See how many people have the last name Heinemeier on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.