2000
#13,513
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,062
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.76
Rare Last name
Heiner
Derived from a German personal name composed of the elements "heim," meaning home, and "her," meaning army.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,487 Americans carry the last name Heiner. That puts it at #13,421 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 137,818 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Heiner 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
2.5K
1 in 137,818
Census rank
#13,421
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,169 bearers of the surname Heiner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13421st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Heiner, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Heiner
The surname Heiner is of German origin, and can be traced back to the 14th century in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony. It is derived from the medieval German word "Hein," a diminutive form of the Germanic name Heinrich, which means "ruler of the home."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Heiner appears in the Nuremberg Chronicles, a 15th-century world history book published in 1493. The book mentions a Johann Heiner, a merchant from Augsburg, who lived in the late 14th century.
In the 16th century, the name Heiner is found in various historical records from the towns of Bamberg and Coburg in Bavaria. A notable figure from this period is Hans Heiner, a Protestant reformer and theologian born in Bamberg in 1525, who was known for his writings on the Reformation.
The Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) saw the migration of many German families, including those with the surname Heiner, to other parts of Europe and even to the New World. One such individual was Johann Heiner, born in 1620 in Coburg, who emigrated to Pennsylvania in the late 17th century and is considered one of the earliest Heiner settlers in America.
In the 19th century, the name Heiner gained prominence in the field of literature. Friedrich Heiner, a German poet and author, was born in 1804 in Saxony and is known for his romantic verses and ballads.
Another notable figure is Heinrich Heiner, born in 1857 in Düsseldorf, who was a prominent architect and urban planner. He was responsible for the design of several iconic buildings in Germany, including the Düsseldorf City Hall.
Among the more recent historical figures with the surname Heiner is Walter Heiner, a German-American physicist born in 1899 in Munich. He made significant contributions to the field of nuclear physics and worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II.
Throughout its history, the surname Heiner has been associated with various occupations and professions, including merchants, theologians, writers, architects, and scientists, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and accomplishments of those who have carried this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heiner
Among Census respondents with the surname Heiner, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Heiner 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 Heiner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.6% · 1,987
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 80
- Two or more races3.3% · 72
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 18
- Black or African American0.3% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Heiner
Heiner 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
#12,869
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,392
+330 bearers (+16.0%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Up 644 places
2020
#13,421
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,169
-223 bearers (-9.3%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Down 552 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,513 | 2,062 | 0.76 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,869 | 2,392 | 0.81 | +330 bearers (+16.0%) | Up 644 places |
| 2020 | #13,421 | 2,169 | 0.73 | -223 bearers (-9.3%) | Down 552 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 Heiner 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 | #12,869 | #13,421 | -4.3% |
| Count | 2,392 | 2,169 | -9.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.81 | 0.73 | -10.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Heiner bearers went from 2,392 to 2,169 (-9.3% change). The surname moved down 552 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,869 to #13,421.
FAQ
Heiner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Heiner?
Name Census estimates that about 2,487 living Americans carry the surname Heiner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 137,818 residents.
How common is Heiner?
Heiner ranks #13,421 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.73 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 2,169 people with the surname Heiner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,487), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.73 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 Heiner.
Has Heiner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Heiner went from 2,392 recorded bearers to 2,169. That is a decrease of 223 (-9.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,869 to #13,421.
What does the Census say about the background of Heiner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Heiner, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (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 Heiner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.6% (1,987 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Heiner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.6%), Hispanic (3.7%), Two or More Races (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 Heiner (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 Heiner mean?
Derived from a German personal name composed of the elements "heim," meaning home, and "her," meaning army. 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 Heiner (0.73 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 have the last name Heiner?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Heiner at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.