2000
#129,619
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Helmerich
A Germanic surname derived from the words "helm" meaning "helmet" and "rîch" meaning "powerful" or "rich."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Helmerich. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Helmerich 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Helmerich in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Helmerich, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Helmerich
The surname HELMERICH is of German origin, deriving from the Middle High German words "helme" meaning "helmet" and "rîche" meaning "rich" or "powerful". It likely originated during the medieval period, potentially as a descriptive surname referring to a person who wore a distinctive or ornate helmet, perhaps suggesting wealth or higher social status.
The earliest recorded instances of the HELMERICH name date back to the late 13th century in the region of Franconia, located in present-day Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Historical records from this time period mention individuals with similar spellings such as Helmericus, Helmricus, and Helmrich.
In the 14th century, the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of documents related to the Margraviate of Brandenburg, contains references to a Nikolaus Helmerich, who was a landowner and official in the town of Neuruppin. This suggests that the HELMERICH name had already established itself among the local nobility and landholding classes by that time.
Another notable early bearer of the HELMERICH name was Hans Helmerich, a wealthy merchant and alderman in the city of Nuremberg during the late 15th century. His family's coat of arms, featuring a helmet, is a testament to the name's original meaning and its association with heraldic symbols.
During the 16th century, the HELMERICH name spread to other parts of Germany, with records indicating individuals bearing this surname in regions such as Saxony and Silesia. One prominent figure was Johann Helmerich, a Protestant reformer and theologian born in 1522 in the town of Zwickau, who played a role in the religious upheavals of the time.
In the 17th century, the HELMERICH family produced several notable scholars and academics, including Christoph Helmerich, a professor of philosophy and rhetoric at the University of Wittenberg, born in 1609 in the town of Nuremberg.
As the centuries progressed, the HELMERICH name continued to be found across various German-speaking regions, with individuals from this family making contributions in fields such as academia, business, and the arts. Notable examples include the 19th-century painter Carl Helmerich and the 20th-century industrialist Walter Helmerich, founder of the Helmerich & Payne drilling company.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Helmerich
Among Census respondents with the surname Helmerich, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Helmerich 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 Helmerich surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.4% · 109
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Helmerich
Helmerich 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
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-8 bearers (-6.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 16,582 places
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+5 bearers (+4.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 2,690 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #129,619 | 121 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | -8 bearers (-6.6%) | Down 16,582 places |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.4%) | Up 2,690 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 Helmerich 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 | #146,201 | #143,511 | 1.8% |
| Count | 113 | 118 | 4.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Helmerich bearers went from 113 to 118 (+4.4% change). The surname moved up 2,690 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #143,511.
FAQ
Helmerich surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Helmerich?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Helmerich. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Helmerich?
Helmerich ranks #143,511 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 118 people with the surname Helmerich. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), 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 Helmerich.
Has Helmerich become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Helmerich went from 113 recorded bearers to 118. That is an increase of 5 (+4.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #146,201 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Helmerich?
Among Census respondents with the surname Helmerich, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%). 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 Helmerich in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (109 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Helmerich appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.4%), Hispanic (5.1%), American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%). 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 Helmerich (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 Helmerich mean?
A Germanic surname derived from the words "helm" meaning "helmet" and "rîch" meaning "powerful" or "rich." 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 Helmerich (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 people are called Helmerich?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Helmerich? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.