2000
#118,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 135
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Herzfeldt
A German surname derived from a place name, meaning "heart field".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 175 Americans carry the last name Herzfeldt. That puts it at #119,572 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,958,596 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Herzfeldt 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
175
1 in 1,958,596
Census rank
#119,572
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
153
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 153 bearers of the surname Herzfeldt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 119572nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Herzfeldt, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Herzfeldt
The surname Herzfeldt is of German origin, tracing its roots back to the 16th century. It is a locational name, derived from the town of Herzfeld located in the region of Westphalia, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The name is believed to have originated from the combination of the German words "Herz" meaning "heart" and "feld" meaning "field" or "open land," suggesting a connection to a place characterized by a heart-shaped field or a field with a unique heart-like shape.
Historically, the earliest known record of the Herzfeldt name can be found in the parish registers of the town of Herzfeld itself, dating back to the late 1500s. One notable mention is that of Hans Herzfeldt, a landowner and farmer born in 1584 in Herzfeld. His descendants continued to carry the surname throughout the subsequent centuries.
In the late 17th century, the name appeared in various legal documents and property records in the neighboring towns and villages, indicating the spread of the Herzfeldt family across the region. One such record is from 1692, which mentions a certain Johann Herzfeldt, a merchant and landowner in the nearby town of Soest.
As the name spread across Germany, it also found its way into other historical records and manuscripts. One notable example is the mention of a Johann Friedrich Herzfeldt in the records of the University of Göttingen, where he studied law in the late 18th century, born in 1768 and graduating in 1792.
Another notable bearer of the Herzfeldt name was Karl Herzfeldt, a respected theologian and philosopher born in 1824 in Dortmund, who served as a professor at the University of Heidelberg in the mid-19th century. His contributions to theological discourse and his published works have left a lasting impact on the academic community.
In the realm of the arts, one cannot overlook the life and works of the German painter and illustrator, Wilhelm Herzfeldt, born in 1859 in Cologne. His landscapes and portraits, which captured the essence of rural life in Germany, have been exhibited in numerous galleries and museums across Europe.
As time progressed, the Herzfeldt name continued to be carried by individuals from various walks of life, including writers, scientists, and entrepreneurs. One such figure was the novelist and playwright, Erna Herzfeldt, born in 1901 in Berlin, whose works explored themes of love, loss, and the human condition in the early 20th century.
While these are just a few examples, the Herzfeldt surname has a rich and diverse history, spanning centuries and reflecting the tapestry of German culture and heritage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Herzfeldt
Among Census respondents with the surname Herzfeldt, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Herzfeldt 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 Herzfeldt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 153
Timeline
Historical Census data for Herzfeldt
Herzfeldt 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
#122,314
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 141
+6 bearers (+4.4%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 3,360 places
2020
#119,572
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 153
+12 bearers (+8.5%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 2,742 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #118,954 | 135 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #122,314 | 141 | 0.05 | +6 bearers (+4.4%) | Down 3,360 places |
| 2020 | #119,572 | 153 | 0.05 | +12 bearers (+8.5%) | Up 2,742 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 Herzfeldt 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 | #122,314 | #119,572 | 2.2% |
| Count | 141 | 153 | 8.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.05 | 2.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Herzfeldt bearers went from 141 to 153 (+8.5% change). The surname moved up 2,742 positions in the national ranking, going from #122,314 to #119,572.
FAQ
Herzfeldt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Herzfeldt?
Name Census estimates that about 175 living Americans carry the surname Herzfeldt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,958,596 residents.
How common is Herzfeldt?
Herzfeldt ranks #119,572 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.05 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 153 people with the surname Herzfeldt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (175), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.05 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 Herzfeldt.
Has Herzfeldt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Herzfeldt went from 141 recorded bearers to 153. That is an increase of 12 (+8.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #122,314 to #119,572.
What does the Census say about the background of Herzfeldt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Herzfeldt, 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 Herzfeldt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (153 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Herzfeldt 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 Herzfeldt (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 Herzfeldt mean?
A German surname derived from a place name, meaning "heart field". 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 Herzfeldt (0.05 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 Herzfeldt?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.