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

Heyen, 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 Heyen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Heyen in America

Heyen is the 28829th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Heyen surname appeared 825 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 Heyen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Heyen 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 Heyen

The surname Heyen is believed to have originated in Germany, with the earliest known records dating back to the 16th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old German word "heide," which means "heath" or "moor," suggesting that the name was initially given to someone who lived near or worked on a heathland.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Kirchenbücher (church records) of the Rhineland region, where a Johannes Heyen is mentioned in an entry from 1572. This indicates that the name was already established in that area by the late 16th century.

In the 17th century, the name appears in various records across Germany, including tax rolls and guild registers. A notable example is the merchant Bartholomäus Heyen, who is listed in the records of the Hanseatic League in 1634, suggesting that the Heyen family had achieved a certain level of prominence in trade circles by that time.

As the name spread across different regions of Germany, it also underwent some spelling variations, such as Heijen, Heyn, and Hein. These variations often reflected local dialects and pronunciation differences.

One of the most significant historical figures with the surname Heyen was Johann Peter Heyen (1793-1859), a German Catholic theologian and philosopher who taught at the University of Bonn. His works on moral theology and natural law were widely influential in his time.

Another notable figure was Karl Heyen (1836-1889), a German architect who designed several notable buildings in Berlin, including the Neue Synagoge (New Synagogue) and the Borsig-Werke (Borsig Works).

In the 20th century, Hans Heyen (1900-1986) was a German politician and member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who served in the Bundestag (German parliament) from 1949 to 1965.

While the name Heyen is most commonly associated with Germany, it has also been found in other parts of Europe, particularly in the Netherlands and Belgium. One example is the Dutch painter Jan Heyen (1616-1690), who was known for his landscapes and genre scenes.

Another notable individual with this surname was the Belgian physician and naturalist Pieter Heyen (1809-1887), who made significant contributions to the study of flora and fauna in the Netherlands and Belgium during the 19th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Heyen

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

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 Heyen 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 Heyen 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 Heyen was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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