2010
#149,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Helzerman
A habitational surname referring to someone from a place called Helzermanshausen.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Helzerman. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Helzerman 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
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Helzerman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Helzerman, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Helzerman
The surname Helzerman is believed to have originated in the German-speaking regions of Europe, specifically in the area that is now known as Germany. Its earliest recorded instances can be traced back to the late Middle Ages, around the 14th or 15th century.
The name Helzerman is thought to be derived from a combination of two old Germanic words: "helz," which meant "helmet" or "protection," and "mann," which meant "man." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to a person who made or wore helmets, perhaps a skilled armorer or a soldier.
In the early days, the name was often spelled with variations such as "Heltzerman," "Helzermann," or "Heltzermann," reflecting the fluid nature of spelling conventions during that time period. These variations can be found in various historical documents and records from the region.
One of the earliest known references to the name Helzerman can be found in the chronicles of the city of Nuremberg, where a certain Hans Helzerman is mentioned as a respected craftsman in the year 1472. Another notable figure was Johann Helzerman, a scholar and theologian who lived in the 16th century and authored several influential works on religious doctrine.
In the 17th century, the name appears in the records of the town of Heidelberg, where a family of Helzermans were prominent merchants and traders. One member of this family, Peter Helzerman (1623-1695), was a respected civic leader and served as a councilman for many years.
As the centuries passed, the Helzerman name spread across various parts of Germany and into neighboring regions. In the 18th century, a notable figure was Friedrich Helzerman (1717-1789), a renowned architect who designed several churches and public buildings in the Rhineland area.
Another notable bearer of the Helzerman name was Karl Helzerman (1842-1914), a German military officer who served with distinction during the Franco-Prussian War and later became a respected military historian and author.
Throughout its history, the Helzerman surname has been associated with a diverse range of professions and achievements, from artisans and scholars to merchants and military leaders. While its exact origins may be shrouded in the mists of time, the name itself continues to carry a sense of resilience and craftsmanship that reflects its Germanic roots.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Helzerman
Among Census respondents with the surname Helzerman, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Helzerman 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 Helzerman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.4% · 104
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 2
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Helzerman
Helzerman appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
-1 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 810 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #149,395 | 110 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 810 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 Helzerman 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 | #149,395 | #150,205 | -0.5% |
| Count | 110 | 109 | -0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Helzerman bearers went from 110 to 109 (-0.9% change). The surname moved down 810 positions in the national ranking, going from #149,395 to #150,205.
FAQ
Helzerman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Helzerman?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Helzerman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Helzerman?
Helzerman ranks #150,205 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 109 people with the surname Helzerman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), 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 Helzerman.
Has Helzerman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Helzerman went from 110 recorded bearers to 109. That is a decrease of 1 (-0.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #149,395 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Helzerman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Helzerman, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%). 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 Helzerman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.4% (104 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Helzerman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.4%), Hispanic (1.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%). 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 Helzerman (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 Helzerman mean?
A habitational surname referring to someone from a place called Helzermanshausen. 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 Helzerman (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 share the surname Helzerman?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.