2010
#145,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Heithold
A German occupational surname derived from "Heide" meaning heath, field or pasture.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Heithold. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Heithold 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
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Heithold in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Heithold, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Heithold
The surname HEITHOLD is of German origin, originating in the medieval period. It is a locational surname, derived from a place name that likely referred to a secluded or hidden dwelling. The name is believed to be a compound of the Middle High German words "heit" meaning "heath" and "holde" meaning "shelter" or "hiding place."
One of the earliest recorded variations of the name is found in the medieval German records of the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, where a certain Heinrich Heitholde is mentioned in 1376. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by the 14th century.
The name HEITHOLD is also found in the historical records of the city of Nuremberg, where a certain Hans Heithold is listed as a merchant in the guild records of 1492. This provides evidence of the name's prominence among the urban mercantile class of the time.
In the 16th century, a notable bearer of the name was Johann Heithold (1492-1567), a German Protestant reformer and theologian who studied under Martin Luther and played a significant role in the spread of Lutheranism in the region of Saxony.
Another notable figure was Friedrich Heithold (1788-1859), a German mathematician and astronomer who made important contributions to the field of celestial mechanics. He was born in the town of Steinau an der Oder and spent much of his career as a professor at the University of Leipzig.
In the realm of literature, one can find the name in the works of the German poet and writer Friedrich Rückert (1788-1866), who included a character named Hermann Heithold in his book "Die Weisheit des Brahmanen" (The Wisdom of the Brahmins), published in 1836.
While the name HEITHOLD is not as common today as it once was, it remains a part of the rich tapestry of German surnames, carrying with it a sense of historical significance and a connection to the medieval origins of the Germanic peoples.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heithold
Among Census respondents with the surname Heithold, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Heithold 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 Heithold surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White96.5% · 110
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Heithold
Heithold appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 1,275 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #145,220 | 114 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 1,275 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 Heithold 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 | #145,220 | #146,495 | -0.9% |
| Count | 114 | 114 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Heithold bearers went from 114 to 114 (+0.0% change). The surname moved down 1,275 positions in the national ranking, going from #145,220 to #146,495.
FAQ
Heithold surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Heithold?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Heithold. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Heithold?
Heithold ranks #146,495 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 114 people with the surname Heithold. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), 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 Heithold.
Has Heithold become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Heithold went from 114 recorded bearers to 114. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #145,220 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Heithold?
Among Census respondents with the surname Heithold, the largest self-reported group is White at 96.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%) and Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Heithold in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.5% (110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Heithold appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (96.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%), Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Heithold (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 Heithold mean?
A German occupational surname derived from "Heide" meaning heath, field or pasture. 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 Heithold (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 common is the surname Heithold?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Heithold, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.