2000
#136,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Heuvel
A Dutch surname derived from the word meaning "hill" or "mound".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 122 Americans carry the last name Heuvel. That puts it at #152,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,809,462 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Heuvel 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
122
1 in 2,809,462
Census rank
#152,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
106
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 106 bearers of the surname Heuvel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Heuvel, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Heuvel
The surname HEUVEL is of Dutch origin and dates back to the early Middle Ages. It is derived from the Dutch word "heuvel" meaning "hill" or "hillock". The name likely originated as a topographic name given to someone who lived near or on a hill.
In its earliest forms, the name was spelled as "Heuvel", "Heuvele", and "Heuvelle". These variations can be found in historical records from the Netherlands and Flanders regions dating back to the 12th and 13th centuries. HEUVEL is a locational surname, indicating that the original bearers lived in or near a place called "Heuvel" or a similar name.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Goudse Bijdragen, a historical record from the city of Gouda in the Netherlands, which mentions a Willem van der Heuvel in 1272. Another early reference is in the Oorkondenboek van Holland en Zeeland, where a Claes die Heuvel is mentioned in 1298.
In the 14th century, the name appears in various records across the Netherlands, such as the Leenkamer van Rijnland, which mentions a Jan van der Heuvel in 1358, and the Oudste Leenprotocol van Kennemerland, where a Gerrit van der Heuvel is recorded in 1392.
Notable historical figures with the surname HEUVEL include Cornelis Heuvel (1564-1633), a Dutch Golden Age painter known for his still life and genre paintings. Another famous bearer of the name was Antonie van der Heuvel (1701-1776), a Dutch engraver and draughtsman who produced numerous etchings and engravings of Dutch landscapes and cityscapes.
In the 17th century, the name can be found in the Doop-, Trouw- en Begraafboeken (Baptismal, Marriage, and Burial Records) of various Dutch cities, such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Utrecht. This suggests that the name was well-established throughout the Netherlands by this time.
Other notable individuals with the surname HEUVEL include Johannes Heuvel (1828-1909), a Dutch politician and member of the House of Representatives, and Edouard van der Heuvel (1850-1924), a Belgian architect known for designing several prominent buildings in Brussels.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heuvel
Among Census respondents with the surname Heuvel, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Heuvel 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 Heuvel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.6% · 96
- Two or more races9.4% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Heuvel
Heuvel 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
#140,157
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
+6 bearers (+5.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,374 places
2020
#152,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-13 bearers (-10.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,182 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #136,783 | 113 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #140,157 | 119 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.3%) | Down 3,374 places |
| 2020 | #152,339 | 106 | 0.04 | -13 bearers (-10.9%) | Down 12,182 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 Heuvel 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 | #140,157 | #152,339 | -8.7% |
| Count | 119 | 106 | -10.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -11.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Heuvel bearers went from 119 to 106 (-10.9% change). The surname moved down 12,182 positions in the national ranking, going from #140,157 to #152,339.
FAQ
Heuvel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Heuvel?
Name Census estimates that about 122 living Americans carry the surname Heuvel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,809,462 residents.
How common is Heuvel?
Heuvel ranks #152,339 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 106 people with the surname Heuvel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (122), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Heuvel.
Has Heuvel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Heuvel went from 119 recorded bearers to 106. That is a decrease of 13 (-10.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #140,157 to #152,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Heuvel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Heuvel, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.4%). 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 Heuvel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.6% (96 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Heuvel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.6%), Two or More Races (9.4%). 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 Heuvel (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 Heuvel mean?
A Dutch surname derived from the word meaning "hill" or "mound". 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 Heuvel (0.04 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 last name Heuvel?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Heuvel at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.