2000
#4,933
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,548
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.43
Rare Last name
Hetrick
Derived from a German nickname meaning "spiteful" or "irritable," likely referring to someone with a quarrelsome disposition.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,314 Americans carry the last name Hetrick. That puts it at #5,276 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.13 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 46,863 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hetrick 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
7.3K
1 in 46,863
Census rank
#5,276
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,378 bearers of the surname Hetrick in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.13 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5276th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hetrick, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hetrick
The surname Hetrick has its origins in Germany and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is believed to be derived from the Germanic personal name Haderich or Hadurich, which was composed of the elements "hadu" meaning battle and "ric" meaning ruler or power.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Hetrick can be found in various medieval records and documents from the regions of Bavaria and Saxony. For example, a reference to a "Haderich von Mühlhausen" appears in a manuscript dated 1289, indicating a connection to the town of Mühlhausen in present-day Thuringia, Germany.
In the 14th century, variations of the name such as "Hederich," "Hederik," and "Hederick" began to emerge in various regions of Germany. These spellings likely reflected local dialects and regional pronunciation differences. The name was also associated with certain place names, such as Hedrichshausen and Hedrichshof, which may have contributed to the development of the surname.
One of the earliest notable individuals bearing the surname Hetrick was Johannes Hetrick, a merchant who lived in Nuremberg in the late 15th century (approximately 1470-1538). Another prominent figure was Christoph Hetrick, a Lutheran theologian and writer who was born in Saxony in 1586 and died in 1647.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the surname Hetrick continued to spread throughout various parts of Germany, as well as neighboring regions such as Switzerland and Austria. Among the notable individuals from this period were Johann Hetrick (1632-1701), a German composer and organist, and Friedrich Hetrick (1720-1789), a German-born painter who later settled in England.
As German immigration to North America increased in the 19th century, the surname Hetrick began to appear in various records and documents in the United States and Canada. One of the earliest known individuals with this surname in the United States was Johann Hetrick, a farmer who settled in Pennsylvania in the early 1800s.
Throughout history, the surname Hetrick has been associated with various professions and fields, including the arts, academia, and politics. Some notable individuals with this surname include the American painter William Hetrick (1854-1939), the German-American philosopher and educator Herman Hetrick (1876-1956), and the Canadian politician James Hetrick (1914-1999), who served as a member of the House of Commons.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hetrick
Among Census respondents with the surname Hetrick, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Hetrick 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 Hetrick surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.1% · 5,877
- Two or more races3.4% · 219
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 181
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 44
- Black or African American0.5% · 34
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 23
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hetrick
Hetrick 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
#5,156
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,784
+236 bearers (+3.6%)
Per 100,000 2.30
Rank movement Down 223 places
2020
#5,276
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,378
-406 bearers (-6.0%)
Per 100,000 2.13
Rank movement Down 120 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,933 | 6,548 | 2.43 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,156 | 6,784 | 2.30 | +236 bearers (+3.6%) | Down 223 places |
| 2020 | #5,276 | 6,378 | 2.13 | -406 bearers (-6.0%) | Down 120 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 Hetrick 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 | #5,156 | #5,276 | -2.3% |
| Count | 6,784 | 6,378 | -6.0% |
| Per 100K | 2.30 | 2.13 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hetrick bearers went from 6,784 to 6,378 (-6.0% change). The surname moved down 120 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,156 to #5,276.
FAQ
Hetrick surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hetrick?
Name Census estimates that about 7,314 living Americans carry the surname Hetrick. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 46,863 residents.
How common is Hetrick?
Hetrick ranks #5,276 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.13 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,378 people with the surname Hetrick. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,314), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.13 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.13 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Hetrick.
Has Hetrick become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hetrick went from 6,784 recorded bearers to 6,378. That is a decrease of 406 (-6.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,156 to #5,276.
What does the Census say about the background of Hetrick?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hetrick, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Hetrick in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.1% (5,877 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hetrick appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.1%), Two or More Races (3.4%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Hetrick (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 Hetrick mean?
Derived from a German nickname meaning "spiteful" or "irritable," likely referring to someone with a quarrelsome disposition. 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 Hetrick (2.13 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 share the surname Hetrick?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.