2000
#134,929
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Hekker
A surname denoting someone who sorted and recovered yarn from woven cloth.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Hekker. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hekker 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
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Hekker in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hekker, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.7%) and Two or More Races (6.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hekker
The surname HEKKER is of Dutch origin, tracing its roots back to the 16th century in the Netherlands. It is believed to have derived from the Dutch word "hekkeren," which means "to catch or ensnare." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who worked as a hunter or trapper.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name HEKKER can be found in the Dutch town of Haarlem, where a family by the name of HEKKER is mentioned in a local registry from the year 1587. It is possible that the name originated in this region and later spread to other parts of the Netherlands.
In the 17th century, the HEKKER name appears in several historical documents, including records of ship manifests and passenger lists. This indicates that individuals bearing this surname were among the Dutch settlers who ventured to other parts of the world during this era of exploration and colonization.
Notable individuals with the HEKKER surname include Jan HEKKER, a Dutch merchant and trader who lived in the late 16th century and is believed to have established trade routes between the Netherlands and the East Indies. Another prominent figure was Pieter HEKKER, a Dutch painter and engraver who was born in 1625 and gained recognition for his landscape and portraiture work.
In the 18th century, the HEKKER name can be found in records from the Dutch colony of Suriname, where a plantation owner named Gerrit HEKKER is mentioned in documents from the 1740s. This suggests that some members of the HEKKER family were involved in the colonial expansion and economic activities of the Dutch in the Americas.
Moving into the 19th century, a notable HEKKER was Willem HEKKER, a Dutch theologian and philosopher who was born in 1818 and made significant contributions to the field of Christian apologetics.
As the HEKKER name spread across Europe and beyond, it also took on various spellings and variations, such as Hecker, Hecker, and Heckerr, reflecting the linguistic and cultural influences of different regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hekker
Among Census respondents with the surname Hekker, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.7%) and Two or More Races (6.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Hekker 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 Hekker surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.5% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino7.7% · 9
- Two or more races6.0% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hekker
Hekker 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
#140,157
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
+4 bearers (+3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,228 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
-2 bearers (-1.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,113 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,929 | 115 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #140,157 | 119 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+3.5%) | Down 5,228 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.7%) | Down 4,113 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 Hekker 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 | #140,157 | #144,270 | -2.9% |
| Count | 119 | 117 | -1.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hekker bearers went from 119 to 117 (-1.7% change). The surname moved down 4,113 positions in the national ranking, going from #140,157 to #144,270.
FAQ
Hekker surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hekker?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Hekker. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Hekker?
Hekker ranks #144,270 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 117 people with the surname Hekker. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), 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 Hekker.
Has Hekker become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hekker went from 119 recorded bearers to 117. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #140,157 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Hekker?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hekker, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.7%) and Two or More Races (6.0%). 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 Hekker in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.5% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hekker appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.5%), Hispanic (7.7%), Two or More Races (6.0%). 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 Hekker (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 Hekker mean?
A surname denoting someone who sorted and recovered yarn from woven cloth. 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 Hekker (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 Hekker?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.