2000
#122,534
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 130
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Heinselman
A German surname derived from a diminutive form of the given name Heinrich.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Heinselman. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Heinselman 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Heinselman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Heinselman, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Heinselman
The surname Heinselman is of German origin and dates back to the medieval period, with records suggesting it emerged around the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German words "hein" meaning "home" and "selman" meaning "man," thus translating to "man of the home" or "homesteader." This surname was likely attributed to those who owned or managed a homestead or small estate.
The earliest known instances of the Heinselman name can be traced to the regions of Bavaria and Saxony in present-day Germany. It was commonly found in local records and documents from these areas during the Middle Ages. The name was also present in various forms of spelling, such as Heinselman, Heinsellmann, and Heinselmann, reflecting the regional dialects and scribal variations of the time.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of this surname was Johannes Heinselman, who was mentioned in the town records of Augsburg, Bavaria, in 1348. Another notable figure was Henrich Heinselman, a landowner in the village of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in the 15th century.
In the 16th century, the Heinselman name appeared in the Kirchenbücher (church records) of Saxony, with entries for the family of Hans Heinselman, who lived in the town of Zwickau in the 1540s. These records often provided valuable genealogical information about families and their settlements.
As the Heinselman family spread across Germany and neighboring regions, the name became associated with various occupations and professions. One notable individual was Friedrich Heinselman, a respected scholar and professor of theology at the University of Leipzig in the late 17th century (1647-1712).
Another prominent bearer of the Heinselman name was Johann Gottfried Heinselman, a German composer and organist who lived during the Baroque period (1684-1768). His compositions and contributions to church music left a lasting impact in the region.
In the 19th century, the Heinselman family continued to make their mark across various fields. Carl Heinselman (1819-1892) was a renowned architect who designed several notable buildings in Berlin, while Heinrich Heinselman (1832-1907) was a prominent industrialist and entrepreneur in the textile industry in Saxony.
As the Heinselman surname spread beyond Germany, it also found its way into other European countries and eventually to the Americas through immigration. While the name may have undergone slight variations in spelling over time, its origins and historical significance remain deeply rooted in the German heritage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heinselman
Among Census respondents with the surname Heinselman, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Heinselman 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 Heinselman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.3% · 103
- Hispanic or Latino5.9% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 3
- Two or more races2.5% · 3
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Heinselman
Heinselman 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
#123,064
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 140
+10 bearers (+7.7%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 530 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
-22 bearers (-15.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 20,447 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #122,534 | 130 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #123,064 | 140 | 0.05 | +10 bearers (+7.7%) | Down 530 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | -22 bearers (-15.7%) | Down 20,447 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 Heinselman 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 | #123,064 | #143,511 | -16.6% |
| Count | 140 | 118 | -15.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -21.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Heinselman bearers went from 140 to 118 (-15.7% change). The surname moved down 20,447 positions in the national ranking, going from #123,064 to #143,511.
FAQ
Heinselman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Heinselman?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Heinselman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Heinselman?
Heinselman ranks #143,511 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 118 people with the surname Heinselman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Heinselman.
Has Heinselman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Heinselman went from 140 recorded bearers to 118. That is a decrease of 22 (-15.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #123,064 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Heinselman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Heinselman, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5%). 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 Heinselman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.3% (103 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Heinselman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.3%), Hispanic (5.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.5%). 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 Heinselman (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 Heinselman mean?
A German surname derived from a 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 Heinselman (0.04 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 Americans have the surname Heinselman?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.