2010
#157,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Hetue
An English surname derived from an old French phrase meaning "one who lives by the forest".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 117 Americans carry the last name Hetue. That puts it at #154,755 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,929,524 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hetue 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
117
1 in 2,929,524
Census rank
#154,755
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
102
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 102 bearers of the surname Hetue in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154755th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hetue, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (11.8%) and Hispanic (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hetue
The surname HETUE has its origins in the historical region of Brittany in northwestern France, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to be derived from the Old Breton word "hetui," meaning "a traveler" or "a wanderer." This suggests that the name may have been initially given to someone who frequently journeyed or migrated from one place to another.
The earliest known recorded instance of the HETUE surname appears in the Cartulaire de Redon, a medieval cartulary compiled in the 9th century, which contains several references to individuals bearing this name. One notable entry mentions a certain "Riwallon Hetue," who was a landowner in the region during the late 11th century.
In the 12th century, a variant spelling, "Hethuë," is found in the Livre Blanc de Landevenec, an ancient manuscript from the Abbey of Landevenec in Finistère, Brittany. This document lists several individuals with this surname, including a "Geffroy Hethuë," who was a monk at the abbey in the mid-1100s.
During the 13th century, the HETUE name began to spread beyond Brittany and into neighboring regions of France. In the Cartulaire de l'Évêché de Bayeux, a cartulary from the Diocese of Bayeux in Normandy, there is a record of a "Guillaume Hetue" who was a landowner in the area around 1240.
One of the earliest known bearers of the HETUE surname was Yvon Hetue, a Breton nobleman who lived in the late 14th century. He is mentioned in several contemporary chronicles as a participant in the Breton War of Succession, supporting the claims of Charles de Blois against Jean de Montfort.
Another notable figure with this surname was Jean Hetue, a wealthy merchant from the city of Nantes, who lived in the early 15th century. He is recorded in the municipal archives of Nantes as having funded the construction of a chapel in the local church in 1412.
In the 16th century, the HETUE name can be found in various records from the region of Poitou in western France. One example is Mathurin Hetue, a landowner from the town of Niort, who is mentioned in the Registres Paroissiaux (parish registers) of the city in the late 1500s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hetue
Among Census respondents with the surname Hetue, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (11.8%) and Hispanic (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Hetue 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 Hetue surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.4% · 82
- Two or more races11.8% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 4
- Black or African American2.0% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hetue
Hetue 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
#154,755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
-1 bearers (-1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 2,479 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #157,234 | 103 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #154,755 | 102 | 0.03 | -1 bearers (-1.0%) | Up 2,479 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 Hetue 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 | #157,234 | #154,755 | 1.6% |
| Count | 103 | 102 | -1.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.03 | 13.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hetue bearers went from 103 to 102 (-1.0% change). The surname moved up 2,479 positions in the national ranking, going from #157,234 to #154,755.
FAQ
Hetue surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hetue?
Name Census estimates that about 117 living Americans carry the surname Hetue. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,929,524 residents.
How common is Hetue?
Hetue ranks #154,755 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 102 people with the surname Hetue. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (117), 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 Hetue.
Has Hetue become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hetue went from 103 recorded bearers to 102. That is a decrease of 1 (-1.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #157,234 to #154,755.
What does the Census say about the background of Hetue?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hetue, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (11.8%) and Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Hetue in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.4% (82 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hetue appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.4%), Two or More Races (11.8%), Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Hetue (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 Hetue mean?
An English surname derived from an old French phrase meaning "one who lives by the forest". 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 Hetue (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 common is the surname Hetue?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Hetue on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.