2000
#6,923
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,469
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.66
Rare Last name
Hellman
A surname of German origin referring to someone who lived near a hallowed or holy place.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,395 Americans carry the last name Hellman. That puts it at #8,275 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.28 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 77,987 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hellman 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
4.4K
1 in 77,987
Census rank
#8,275
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,833 bearers of the surname Hellman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.28 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8275th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hellman, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hellman
The surname Hellman is of German origin, tracing its roots back to the medieval era. It is derived from the Old High German word "hella," which means "bright" or "shining," and the suffix "-man," which denotes a person. Therefore, the name Hellman initially referred to a person with a bright or radiant appearance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hellman can be found in the Codex Traditionum Westfalicarum, a medieval cartulary from the 11th century, where it appears as "Hellemann." This suggests that the surname was already in use in the region of Westphalia, Germany, during that time.
In the 13th century, the name Hellman was also mentioned in the Annales Monasterii Bremensis, a chronicle of the Benedictine monastery in Bremen, Germany. This indicates that the name had spread to other parts of northern Germany by that period.
The surname Hellman has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest was Henricus Hellman, a German theologian and academic who lived in the late 15th century and served as the rector of the University of Greifswald.
Another prominent figure with this surname was Johann Hellman (1532-1598), a German humanist scholar and poet who was a professor at the University of Jena and known for his Latin works.
In the 17th century, Johann Hellman (1608-1673) was a German jurist and legal scholar who served as a professor of law at the University of Rostock and wrote several treatises on legal topics.
The name Hellman has also been associated with places in Germany, such as the village of Hellmannshofen in Bavaria, which likely derived its name from an early settler or landowner with the surname Hellman.
In the 19th century, Carl Hellman (1835-1909) was a German-American industrialist who founded the Hellman Brewing Company in Los Angeles, California, and played a significant role in the development of the city's beer industry.
These examples illustrate the rich history and diversity of the surname Hellman, which has been carried by scholars, academics, legal professionals, industrialists, and others across various regions and time periods.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hellman
Among Census respondents with the surname Hellman, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Hellman 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 Hellman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.0% · 3,528
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 126
- Two or more races2.8% · 106
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 43
- Black or African American0.6% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hellman
Hellman 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
#9,661
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,360
-1,109 bearers (-24.8%)
Per 100,000 1.14
Rank movement Down 2,738 places
2020
#8,275
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,833
+473 bearers (+14.1%)
Per 100,000 1.28
Rank movement Up 1,386 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,923 | 4,469 | 1.66 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,661 | 3,360 | 1.14 | -1,109 bearers (-24.8%) | Down 2,738 places |
| 2020 | #8,275 | 3,833 | 1.28 | +473 bearers (+14.1%) | Up 1,386 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 Hellman 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 | #9,661 | #8,275 | 14.3% |
| Count | 3,360 | 3,833 | 14.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.14 | 1.28 | 12.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hellman bearers went from 3,360 to 3,833 (+14.1% change). The surname moved up 1,386 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,661 to #8,275.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hellman
FAQ
Hellman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hellman?
Name Census estimates that about 4,395 living Americans carry the surname Hellman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 77,987 residents.
How common is Hellman?
Hellman ranks #8,275 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.28 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,833 people with the surname Hellman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,395), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.28 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.28 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Hellman.
Has Hellman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hellman went from 3,360 recorded bearers to 3,833. That is an increase of 473 (+14.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,661 to #8,275.
What does the Census say about the background of Hellman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hellman, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Hellman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.0% (3,528 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hellman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.0%), Hispanic (3.3%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Hellman (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 Hellman mean?
A surname of German origin referring to someone who lived near a hallowed or holy place. 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 Hellman (1.28 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 are called Hellman?
Want to know how many people have the surname Hellman? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.