Find out how popular the last name Heter is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Heter.

Heter, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Heter surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Heter in America

Heter is the 66931st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Heter surname appeared 295 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Heter.

We can also compare 2010 data for Heter to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Heter

The surname HETER is of German origin, and it first appeared in the 12th century in the region that is now modern-day Bavaria. The name is derived from the Old German word "heter," which means "bright" or "shining." It was likely a descriptive name, given to someone with a bright or radiant personality or appearance.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname HETER can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of medieval documents from the region of Saxony, dated around 1200. The name is spelled "Heter" in this text, which suggests that the current spelling was established quite early on.

In the 14th century, a man named Johannes Heter was mentioned in the Stadtbuch, or city book, of the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria. This is one of the earliest known references to a specific individual with the surname.

During the 16th century, the name HETER appeared in various records across Germany, including church registers and tax rolls. One notable bearer of the name was Hans Heter, a merchant from Nuremberg who was born in 1520 and died in 1585.

The HETER surname was also found in other parts of Europe, likely due to migration and trade. In the 17th century, a man named Pieter Heter was recorded in the records of the Dutch East India Company as a sailor who traveled to the East Indies.

In the 19th century, a prominent figure with the surname HETER was the German painter and sculptor Johann Heter, who was born in 1810 and died in 1892. His works are still displayed in galleries across Germany.

Other notable individuals with the surname HETER include Friedrich Heter, a German philosopher and writer who lived from 1830 to 1905, and Katarina Heter, a Swedish botanist and naturalist who was born in 1875 and made significant contributions to the study of plant life in Scandinavia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Heter

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Heter.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Heter was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Heter has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Heter was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Heter, please contact us.

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