2010
#156,044
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Hertaus
A surname possibly derived from a German topographic name referring to a geographic location.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Hertaus. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hertaus 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
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Hertaus in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hertaus, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hertaus
The surname HERTAUS is believed to have originated in Germany, with the earliest known records dating back to the 16th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old German words "herz" meaning heart and "haus" meaning house, potentially indicating a connection to an inn or tavern.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the town of Nuremberg, where a certain Hans Hertaus was listed as a local merchant in 1557. Another early reference comes from the city of Augsburg, where a family by the name of Hertaus was involved in the textile trade during the late 1500s.
By the 17th century, the name had spread to other regions of Germany, as well as neighboring countries like Austria and Switzerland. In 1632, a Johann Hertaus was documented as a landowner in the village of Oberammergau, located in the Bavarian Alps.
The name also appears in historical records related to the Protestant Reformation, with a pastor named Martin Hertaus serving in the town of Wittenberg, where Martin Luther famously initiated the movement in 1517.
As the centuries progressed, the Hertaus name continued to be found across various parts of Europe. Notable individuals bearing this surname include Konrad Hertaus (1675-1745), a respected clockmaker from the Black Forest region of Germany, and Katharina Hertaus (1789-1862), a prominent figure in the Austrian women's rights movement.
Other examples of historical figures with the Hertaus surname include Johann Hertaus (1817-1892), a German composer and organist, and Maximilian Hertaus (1859-1924), an Austrian architect who designed several notable buildings in Vienna.
While the spelling has remained relatively consistent over time, there are some instances of variations such as Herthaus or Herthauss appearing in older documents, likely due to regional differences in pronunciation and record-keeping practices.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hertaus
Among Census respondents with the surname Hertaus, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Hertaus 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 Hertaus surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White97.1% · 101
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hertaus
Hertaus 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
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 2,454 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #156,044 | 104 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Up 2,454 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 Hertaus 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 | #156,044 | #153,590 | 1.6% |
| Count | 104 | 104 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hertaus bearers went from 104 to 104 (+0.0% change). The surname moved up 2,454 positions in the national ranking, going from #156,044 to #153,590.
FAQ
Hertaus surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hertaus?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Hertaus. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Hertaus?
Hertaus ranks #153,590 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 104 people with the surname Hertaus. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Hertaus.
Has Hertaus become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hertaus went from 104 recorded bearers to 104. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #156,044 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Hertaus?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hertaus, the largest self-reported group is White at 97.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%). 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 Hertaus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.1% (101 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hertaus appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (97.1%), Hispanic (1.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.0%). 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 Hertaus (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 Hertaus mean?
A surname possibly derived from a German topographic name referring to a geographic location. 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 Hertaus (0.03 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 have the surname Hertaus?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.