2000
#1,274
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 25,371
First available Census row
Per 100,000 9.40
Uncommon Last name
Heller
A German and Jewish occupational surname referring to a person who produced or sold bright, shining objects or armor.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 26,972 Americans carry the last name Heller. That puts it at #1,477 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.87 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 12,708 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Heller 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Heller with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
27K
1 in 12,708
Census rank
#1,477
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
24K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 23,521 bearers of the surname Heller in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.87 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1477th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Heller, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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In the 14th century, the name Heller appeared in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony.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."
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heller
Among Census respondents with the surname Heller, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Heller 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 Heller surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.4% · 21,503
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 706
- Two or more races2.6% · 607
- Black or African American1.9% · 442
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 212
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 51
Timeline
Historical Census data for Heller
Heller 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
#1,399
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 25,373
+2 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 8.60
Rank movement Down 125 places
2020
#1,477
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,521
-1,852 bearers (-7.3%)
Per 100,000 7.87
Rank movement Down 78 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,274 | 25,371 | 9.40 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,399 | 25,373 | 8.60 | +2 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 125 places |
| 2020 | #1,477 | 23,521 | 7.87 | -1,852 bearers (-7.3%) | Down 78 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 Heller 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 | #1,399 | #1,477 | -5.6% |
| Count | 25,373 | 23,521 | -7.3% |
| Per 100K | 8.60 | 7.87 | -8.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Heller bearers went from 25,373 to 23,521 (-7.3% change). The surname moved down 78 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,399 to #1,477.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Heller
FAQ
Heller surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Heller?
Name Census estimates that about 26,972 living Americans carry the surname Heller. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 12,708 residents.
How common is Heller?
Heller ranks #1,477 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.87 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 23,521 people with the surname Heller. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (26,972), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.87 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.87 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Heller.
Has Heller become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Heller went from 25,373 recorded bearers to 23,521. That is a decrease of 1,852 (-7.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,399 to #1,477.
What does the Census say about the background of Heller?
Among Census respondents with the surname Heller, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.0%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Heller in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (21,503 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Heller appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.4%), Hispanic (3.0%), Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Heller (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 Heller mean?
A German and Jewish occupational surname referring to a person who produced or sold bright, shining objects or armor. 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 Heller (7.87 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 Heller?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.