2000
#11,971
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,394
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.89
Rare Last name
Heiss
A German and Jewish occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word "heiz," meaning "hot" or "intense."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,462 Americans carry the last name Heiss. That puts it at #13,535 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.72 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 139,218 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Heiss 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 139,218
Census rank
#13,535
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,147 bearers of the surname Heiss in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.72 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13535th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Heiss, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Heiss
The surname Heiss originates from Germany and its earliest recorded use dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old High German word "heiz" meaning "hot" or "ardent." The name was likely given as a descriptive nickname to someone with a fiery temperament or perhaps someone who worked with fire, such as a blacksmith or a baker.
In the medieval period, Heiss was a common surname in Bavaria and parts of Austria. The earliest known record of the name appears in the Codex Traditionum Lunaelacensis, a 12th-century manuscript from the Benedictine monastery of Lünebach in Alsace, which mentions a certain Cunradus Heizze.
Another early reference to the name can be found in the Traditionsbuch of the Benedictine monastery of St. Peter in Salzburg, Austria, where a Chunradus Heizze is listed as a witness to a land transaction in 1187.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Heinrich Heiss, a wealthy merchant from Augsburg, Germany, who lived in the 14th century. He is mentioned in several historical records, including the Augsburg city chronicle, for his involvement in local politics and trade.
During the 15th century, the Heiss family was prominent in Nuremberg, where they owned several breweries and taverns. Johannes Heiss (1445-1519), a brewer and city councilor, was a notable member of this family.
In the 16th century, a branch of the Heiss family settled in Switzerland, where they became successful vintners. Hans Rudolf Heiss (1541-1611), a Swiss winemaker from Zurich, was a respected figure in his time and is credited with improving the quality of Swiss wines.
Other notable individuals with the surname Heiss include Johann Heiss (1640-1704), a German Baroque composer and organist from Hirschau, and Johann Baptist Heiss (1784-1857), an Austrian painter and engraver from Vienna.
The Heiss name has also been found in various spellings throughout history, such as Heyss, Heysz, and Heisz, reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heiss
Among Census respondents with the surname Heiss, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Heiss 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 Heiss surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.6% · 2,010
- Two or more races3.0% · 64
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 52
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 15
- Black or African American0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Heiss
Heiss 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
#12,584
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,460
+66 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.83
Rank movement Down 613 places
2020
#13,535
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,147
-313 bearers (-12.7%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Down 951 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,971 | 2,394 | 0.89 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,584 | 2,460 | 0.83 | +66 bearers (+2.8%) | Down 613 places |
| 2020 | #13,535 | 2,147 | 0.72 | -313 bearers (-12.7%) | Down 951 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 Heiss 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 | #12,584 | #13,535 | -7.6% |
| Count | 2,460 | 2,147 | -12.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.83 | 0.72 | -13.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Heiss bearers went from 2,460 to 2,147 (-12.7% change). The surname moved down 951 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,584 to #13,535.
FAQ
Heiss surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Heiss?
Name Census estimates that about 2,462 living Americans carry the surname Heiss. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 139,218 residents.
How common is Heiss?
Heiss ranks #13,535 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 2,147 people with the surname Heiss. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,462), 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 Heiss.
Has Heiss become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Heiss went from 2,460 recorded bearers to 2,147. That is a decrease of 313 (-12.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,584 to #13,535.
What does the Census say about the background of Heiss?
Among Census respondents with the surname Heiss, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Heiss in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.6% (2,010 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Heiss appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.6%), Two or More Races (3.0%), Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Heiss (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 Heiss mean?
A German and Jewish occupational surname derived from the Middle High German word "heiz," meaning "hot" or "intense." 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 Heiss (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 Americans have the surname Heiss?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.