2010
#158,432
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Hertter
A locational surname originating in Germany, referring to a person from Hertter or another place with a similar name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 116 Americans carry the last name Hertter. That puts it at #155,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,954,779 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hertter 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
116
1 in 2,954,779
Census rank
#155,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
101
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 101 bearers of the surname Hertter in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hertter, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hertter
The surname Hertter is of German origin, derived from the medieval German word "hert" meaning "stag" or "hart." The name likely originated in the 12th or 13th century in the regions of modern-day Germany and Switzerland.
The earliest recorded mention of the Hertter surname can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Anhaltinus, a collection of historical documents from the principality of Anhalt, dating back to 1249. The document refers to a certain "Heinrich Hertter" from the town of Zerbst.
In the 15th century, the Hertter name appeared in various records across southern Germany, including the Württembergisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of historical documents from the region of Württemberg. This suggests that the name had spread and established itself in different parts of Germany by that time.
One notable bearer of the Hertter name was Johann Hertter, a German theologian and professor at the University of Tübingen, who lived from 1556 to 1618. He was known for his works on Biblical exegesis and his contributions to the field of Protestant theology.
Another historical figure with the Hertter surname was Karl Friedrich Hertter, a German jurist and politician who served as the Minister of Justice for the Kingdom of Württemberg in the early 19th century (born in 1786, died in 1852).
In the late 19th century, the Hertter name was also found in Switzerland, particularly in the canton of Bern. One notable Swiss bearer of the name was Eduard Hertter, a Swiss painter and illustrator who lived from 1849 to 1924, known for his landscapes and genre scenes depicting everyday life in Switzerland.
The surname Hertter has also been associated with various place names in Germany, such as Herttersdorf, a village in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, and Hertterberg, a hill near the town of Heidenheim in Baden-Württemberg. These place names likely originated from individuals or families bearing the Hertter surname who lived in or owned land in those areas.
While the Hertter surname has its roots in medieval Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and immigration patterns. However, its origins and earliest recorded instances can be traced back to the regions of central and southern Germany, where it emerged as a surname derived from the German word "hert" or "hart" referring to a stag or hart.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hertter
Among Census respondents with the surname Hertter, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Hertter 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 Hertter surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.0% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hertter
Hertter 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
#155,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
-1 bearers (-1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 3,162 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #158,432 | 102 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #155,270 | 101 | 0.03 | -1 bearers (-1.0%) | Up 3,162 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 Hertter 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 | #158,432 | #155,270 | 2.0% |
| Count | 102 | 101 | -1.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 12.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hertter bearers went from 102 to 101 (-1.0% change). The surname moved up 3,162 positions in the national ranking, going from #158,432 to #155,270.
FAQ
Hertter surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hertter?
Name Census estimates that about 116 living Americans carry the surname Hertter. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,954,779 residents.
How common is Hertter?
Hertter ranks #155,270 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 101 people with the surname Hertter. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (116), 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 Hertter.
Has Hertter become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hertter went from 102 recorded bearers to 101. That is a decrease of 1 (-1.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #158,432 to #155,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Hertter?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hertter, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (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 Hertter in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.0% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hertter appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.0%), Hispanic (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 Hertter (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 Hertter mean?
A locational surname originating in Germany, referring to a person from Hertter or another place with a similar name. 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 Hertter (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 Americans have the surname Hertter?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.