2000
#85,643
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 203
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.08
Very Rare Last name
Hellebuyck
Dutch surname meaning "bright valley" derived from a geographic name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 263 Americans carry the last name Hellebuyck. That puts it at #87,312 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,303,248 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hellebuyck 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
263
1 in 1,303,248
Census rank
#87,312
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
229
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 229 bearers of the surname Hellebuyck in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 87312th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hellebuyck, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.9%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hellebuyck
The surname Hellebuyck originates from the Netherlands and Belgium, where it first appeared during the 16th century. The name is derived from the Dutch words "helle" meaning "light" or "bright" and "buyck" meaning "belly" or "stomach." It likely referred to a physical characteristic of an early bearer of the name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Hellebuyck surname can be found in the Dutch town of Antwerp in 1587, when a man named Jan Hellebuyck was listed in the town's records. The name also appears in various Dutch and Flemish records from the 17th and 18th centuries, with variations in spelling such as Hellebuijck, Hellebuycke, and Hellebuijk.
During the 17th century, a notable figure named Pieter Hellebuyck (1620-1688) was a prominent merchant and ship owner in the city of Amsterdam. He was involved in the Dutch East India Company and played a significant role in the city's maritime trade.
In the 18th century, a man named Johannes Hellebuyck (1745-1812) was a renowned painter from the city of Ghent, known for his portraiture and religious works. Some of his paintings can still be found in various churches and museums in Belgium.
Another notable bearer of the Hellebuyck name was Willem Hellebuyck (1792-1865), a Belgian politician and lawyer who served as the mayor of Antwerp from 1848 to 1857. He was instrumental in the city's development during the mid-19th century.
In the late 19th century, a man named August Hellebuyck (1875-1943) was a prominent architect from the city of Brussels. He designed several notable buildings in the Art Nouveau style, including the Cauchie House and the Solvay House, both considered architectural landmarks in the city.
As the Hellebuyck surname spread beyond the Netherlands and Belgium, it also found its way to other parts of Europe and eventually to North America, where many bearers of the name can be found today. However, the name's origins and early history remain firmly rooted in the Low Countries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hellebuyck
Among Census respondents with the surname Hellebuyck, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.9%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Hellebuyck 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 Hellebuyck surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.0% · 190
- Hispanic or Latino10.9% · 25
- Two or more races4.4% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hellebuyck
Hellebuyck 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
#82,613
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 228
+25 bearers (+12.3%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Up 3,030 places
2020
#87,312
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 229
+1 bearers (+0.4%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Down 4,699 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #85,643 | 203 | 0.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #82,613 | 228 | 0.08 | +25 bearers (+12.3%) | Up 3,030 places |
| 2020 | #87,312 | 229 | 0.08 | +1 bearers (+0.4%) | Down 4,699 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 Hellebuyck 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 | #82,613 | #87,312 | -5.7% |
| Count | 228 | 229 | 0.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.08 | 0.08 | -4.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hellebuyck bearers went from 228 to 229 (+0.4% change). The surname moved down 4,699 positions in the national ranking, going from #82,613 to #87,312.
FAQ
Hellebuyck surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hellebuyck?
Name Census estimates that about 263 living Americans carry the surname Hellebuyck. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,303,248 residents.
How common is Hellebuyck?
Hellebuyck ranks #87,312 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.08 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 229 people with the surname Hellebuyck. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (263), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.08 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.08 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 Hellebuyck.
Has Hellebuyck become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hellebuyck went from 228 recorded bearers to 229. That is an increase of 1 (+0.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #82,613 to #87,312.
What does the Census say about the background of Hellebuyck?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hellebuyck, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.9%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Hellebuyck in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.0% (190 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hellebuyck appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.0%), Hispanic (10.9%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Hellebuyck (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 Hellebuyck mean?
Dutch surname meaning "bright valley" derived from a geographic name. 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 Hellebuyck (0.08 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 people share the surname Hellebuyck?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.