2000
#13,920
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,988
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.74
Rare Last name
Heinrichs
A patronymic surname derived from the Germanic personal name Heinrich, meaning "ruler of the home" or "power ruler."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,472 Americans carry the last name Heinrichs. That puts it at #13,489 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.72 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 138,655 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Heinrichs 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 138,655
Census rank
#13,489
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,156 bearers of the surname Heinrichs in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.72 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13489th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Heinrichs, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Heinrichs
The surname HEINRICHS is of German origin, derived from the personal name Heinrich, which itself comes from the old German words "heim" meaning home, and "rīc" meaning power or ruler. The name Heinrich was originally a Germanic name composed of these two elements, essentially meaning "ruler of the home" or "home ruler".
The name HEINRICHS is a patronymic form of Heinrich, meaning "son of Heinrich". Patronymic surnames were common in German-speaking regions, indicating the name of one's father. The "s" at the end denotes the possessive form, essentially meaning "belonging to Heinrich".
Records of the name HEINRICHS can be found in various German historical documents dating back to the medieval period. One notable early example is a mention of a "Heinricus de Colonia" (Heinrich of Cologne) in a 13th-century manuscript from the city of Cologne.
In the 15th century, a prominent German scholar and humanist named Johann Heinrichs von Biberach (1460-1528) was born in the town of Biberach an der Riss. He was a respected professor and rector at the University of Tübingen.
Another historical figure with this surname was the German mathematician and astronomer Erhard Heinrichs (1573-1632), who made important contributions to the development of logarithms and the calculation of eclipses.
In the 18th century, Johann Gottfried Heinrichs (1753-1833) was a German writer and educator who published several works on education and pedagogy.
Moving into the 19th century, Carl Friedrich Heinrichs (1843-1917) was a German-American businessman and philanthropist who founded the C.F. Heinrichs Company, a successful meat-packing firm in St. Louis, Missouri.
Another notable figure from this period was the German philosopher and psychologist Wilhelm Heinrichs (1859-1923), who made significant contributions to the field of experimental psychology.
These examples illustrate the long history and widespread use of the surname HEINRICHS in various parts of Germany, as well as its presence among notable figures in fields such as academia, science, and business.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heinrichs
Among Census respondents with the surname Heinrichs, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Heinrichs 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 Heinrichs surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.6% · 1,932
- Two or more races4.3% · 92
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 85
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 22
- Black or African American0.7% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Heinrichs
Heinrichs 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
#14,363
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,082
+94 bearers (+4.7%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Down 443 places
2020
#13,489
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,156
+74 bearers (+3.6%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Up 874 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,920 | 1,988 | 0.74 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,363 | 2,082 | 0.71 | +94 bearers (+4.7%) | Down 443 places |
| 2020 | #13,489 | 2,156 | 0.72 | +74 bearers (+3.6%) | Up 874 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 Heinrichs 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 | #14,363 | #13,489 | 6.1% |
| Count | 2,082 | 2,156 | 3.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.71 | 0.72 | 1.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Heinrichs bearers went from 2,082 to 2,156 (+3.6% change). The surname moved up 874 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,363 to #13,489.
FAQ
Heinrichs surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Heinrichs?
Name Census estimates that about 2,472 living Americans carry the surname Heinrichs. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 138,655 residents.
How common is Heinrichs?
Heinrichs ranks #13,489 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.72 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 2,156 people with the surname Heinrichs. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,472), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.72 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.72 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 Heinrichs.
Has Heinrichs become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Heinrichs went from 2,082 recorded bearers to 2,156. That is an increase of 74 (+3.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #14,363 to #13,489.
What does the Census say about the background of Heinrichs?
Among Census respondents with the surname Heinrichs, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Heinrichs in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.6% (1,932 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Heinrichs appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.6%), Two or More Races (4.3%), Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Heinrichs (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 Heinrichs mean?
A patronymic surname derived from the Germanic personal name Heinrich, meaning "ruler of the home" or "power ruler." 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 Heinrichs (0.72 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 Heinrichs?
You can see how many people are called Heinrichs on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.