2000
#111,740
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 146
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Herberholz
A surname originating from the German words "Herr" meaning "lord" or "master" and "Holz" meaning "forest" or "woods", potentially indicating a connection to a forest or woodland estate.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 150 Americans carry the last name Herberholz. That puts it at #133,930 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,285,029 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Herberholz 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
150
1 in 2,285,029
Census rank
#133,930
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
131
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 131 bearers of the surname Herberholz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 133930th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Herberholz, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Herberholz
The surname Herberholz originates from Germany, with records dating back to the 14th century. It is believed to have originated from a combination of the German words "Herber" meaning "guest" and "Holz" meaning "forest" or "wood."
In its early days, the name was likely associated with individuals who lived near or worked in forested areas that provided lodging or accommodation for travelers and guests. Some of the earliest recorded spellings of the name include Herberholz, Herberholtz, and Herberhollz.
While there are no known references to the name in major historical documents like the Domesday Book, it appears in various regional German records and manuscripts from the late medieval period onwards.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Herberholz was Hans Herberholz, a woodcutter and innkeeper who lived in the Black Forest region of Baden-Württemberg in the late 15th century (c. 1470-1535).
Another notable figure was Matthias Herberholz (1564-1627), a Lutheran pastor and theologian from Saxony, who authored several religious texts and sermons during the Protestant Reformation.
In the 18th century, Johann Christoph Herberholz (1703-1768) was a German composer and organist known for his contributions to church music and organ compositions.
The 19th century saw Gottlob Herberholz (1805-1879), a prominent German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings and city plans in Berlin and other German cities.
More recently, Erich Herberholz (1903-1976) was a German artist and sculptor, known for his modernist sculptures and public art installations in various German cities.
While the Herberholz surname is most commonly associated with Germany, it has also been found in other European countries, likely due to migration and settlement patterns over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Herberholz
Among Census respondents with the surname Herberholz, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Herberholz 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 Herberholz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 131
Timeline
Historical Census data for Herberholz
Herberholz 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
#127,494
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 134
-12 bearers (-8.2%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 15,754 places
2020
#133,930
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 131
-3 bearers (-2.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,436 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #111,740 | 146 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #127,494 | 134 | 0.05 | -12 bearers (-8.2%) | Down 15,754 places |
| 2020 | #133,930 | 131 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.2%) | Down 6,436 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 Herberholz 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 | #127,494 | #133,930 | -5.0% |
| Count | 134 | 131 | -2.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -12.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Herberholz bearers went from 134 to 131 (-2.2% change). The surname moved down 6,436 positions in the national ranking, going from #127,494 to #133,930.
FAQ
Herberholz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Herberholz?
Name Census estimates that about 150 living Americans carry the surname Herberholz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,285,029 residents.
How common is Herberholz?
Herberholz ranks #133,930 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 131 people with the surname Herberholz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (150), 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 Herberholz.
Has Herberholz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Herberholz went from 134 recorded bearers to 131. That is a decrease of 3 (-2.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #127,494 to #133,930.
What does the Census say about the background of Herberholz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Herberholz, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Herberholz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (131 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Herberholz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Herberholz (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 Herberholz mean?
A surname originating from the German words "Herr" meaning "lord" or "master" and "Holz" meaning "forest" or "woods", potentially indicating a connection to a forest or woodland estate. 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 Herberholz (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 Herberholz?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Herberholz at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.