Find out how popular the last name Heller is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Heller.

Heller, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Heller surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Heller in America

Heller is the 1399th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Heller surname appeared 25,373 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 9 people would have the surname Heller.

We can also compare 2010 data for Heller to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Heller

The surname Heller is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "hellære" or "heller," meaning "bright" or "shining." It likely originated as a descriptive nickname for someone with bright hair or a radiant complexion.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Heller can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and Swabia. It was often spelled as "Heller," "Heller," or "Heller" in medieval records and documents.

In the 14th century, the name Heller appeared in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony. Additionally, the Heller family was mentioned in the 1381 tax records of the city of Nuremberg.

One notable early bearer of the name was Johannes Heller, a German theologian and reformer born in 1486 in Deisslingen, Württemberg. He was a prominent figure during the Protestant Reformation and corresponded with Martin Luther.

Another historical figure with the surname Heller was Johann Heller, a German composer born in 1652 in Bamberg, Bavaria. He composed church music and was known for his motets and masses.

In the 18th century, Johann Florian Heller (1686-1759) was a Bavarian Baroque painter and fresco artist whose works adorned churches and monasteries throughout southern Germany.

The Heller name was also associated with the town of Heller in Saxony, which likely derived its name from the same Middle High German root. This connection to a place name may have contributed to the surname's widespread use in the region.

Other notable individuals with the surname Heller include Walter Heller (1915-1987), an American economist and Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, and Joseph Heller (1923-1999), the American satirical novelist best known for his novel "Catch-22."

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Heller

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Heller.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Heller was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Heller has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Heller was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Heller, please contact us.

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