2000
#5,152
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,249
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.32
Rare Last name
Heiser
From German, referring to someone with a hoarse or raspy voice, or who shouts a lot.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,621 Americans carry the last name Heiser. That puts it at #5,781 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.93 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 51,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Heiser 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
6.6K
1 in 51,768
Census rank
#5,781
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,774 bearers of the surname Heiser in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.93 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5781st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Heiser, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Heiser
The surname Heiser is of German origin, with its roots traceable to the late 15th or early 16th century. It is believed to have originated from the German word "heiser," which means "hoarse" or "husky-voiced." This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with someone who had a distinctive hoarse voice.
The earliest records of the Heiser name can be found in various German regions, particularly in the southern and central parts of the country. Some of the earliest documented instances include Johann Heiser, born in 1532 in Nuremberg, and Hans Heiser, a farmer from Hesse, who lived in the mid-16th century.
In the 17th century, the Heiser surname appeared in several historical records, including parish registers and guild documents. One notable individual from this era was Michael Heiser, a master craftsman and member of the Goldsmiths' Guild in Augsburg, who lived from 1621 to 1689.
As the name spread across different regions of Germany, variations in spelling emerged, such as Heisser, Heysser, and Heyser. These variations were often influenced by local dialects and the preferences of scribes who recorded the names.
In the 18th century, the Heiser surname gained further prominence with individuals like Johann Heiser (1715-1794), a renowned clockmaker from Saxony, and Wilhelm Heiser (1762-1833), a respected teacher and author from Württemberg.
The 19th century saw the name Heiser spread beyond Germany's borders as a result of emigration. Notable individuals from this period include Heinrich Heiser (1819-1889), a German-American businessman who founded a successful brewing company in Philadelphia, and Karl Heiser (1856-1918), an Austrian-born inventor and engineer who made significant contributions to the development of early internal combustion engines.
Throughout its history, the Heiser surname has also been associated with various place names, such as Heiserberg, a small town in Baden-Württemberg, and Heiserhof, a village in the Palatinate region of Germany.
While the name Heiser has its origins in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and Australia, carried by German immigrants who settled in these countries over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heiser
Among Census respondents with the surname Heiser, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Heiser 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 Heiser surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.3% · 5,387
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 178
- Two or more races2.3% · 135
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 47
- Black or African American0.4% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Heiser
Heiser 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
#5,277
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,606
+357 bearers (+5.7%)
Per 100,000 2.24
Rank movement Down 125 places
2020
#5,781
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,774
-832 bearers (-12.6%)
Per 100,000 1.93
Rank movement Down 504 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,152 | 6,249 | 2.32 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,277 | 6,606 | 2.24 | +357 bearers (+5.7%) | Down 125 places |
| 2020 | #5,781 | 5,774 | 1.93 | -832 bearers (-12.6%) | Down 504 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 Heiser 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 | #5,277 | #5,781 | -9.6% |
| Count | 6,606 | 5,774 | -12.6% |
| Per 100K | 2.24 | 1.93 | -13.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Heiser bearers went from 6,606 to 5,774 (-12.6% change). The surname moved down 504 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,277 to #5,781.
FAQ
Heiser surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Heiser?
Name Census estimates that about 6,621 living Americans carry the surname Heiser. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 51,768 residents.
How common is Heiser?
Heiser ranks #5,781 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.93 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,774 people with the surname Heiser. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,621), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.93 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.93 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Heiser.
Has Heiser become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Heiser went from 6,606 recorded bearers to 5,774. That is a decrease of 832 (-12.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,277 to #5,781.
What does the Census say about the background of Heiser?
Among Census respondents with the surname Heiser, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Heiser in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (5,387 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Heiser appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.3%), Hispanic (3.1%), Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Heiser (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 Heiser mean?
From German, referring to someone with a hoarse or raspy voice, or who shouts a lot. 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 Heiser (1.93 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 Heiser?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.