2000
#9,100
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,301
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.22
Rare Last name
Heyer
Derived from the Middle High German word "heier," meaning a tall or towering person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,395 Americans carry the last name Heyer. That puts it at #10,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.99 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 100,959 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Heyer 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
3.4K
1 in 100,959
Census rank
#10,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,961 bearers of the surname Heyer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.99 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Heyer, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Heyer
The surname HEYER has its origins in Germany, where it emerged during the Middle Ages, likely in the 13th or 14th century. The name is derived from the Old German word "haia" or "haio," which referred to a person who lived in a hedged or fenced area, or perhaps a forester or gamekeeper.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name HEYER can be found in the historical records of Saxony, a region in modern-day eastern Germany. In the year 1367, a man named Heinrich Heyer was mentioned in the town records of Leipzig, indicating that the surname was already established by that time.
As the name spread across Germany, it underwent minor spelling variations, such as Hayer, Haier, and Heier, but the core pronunciation and meaning remained consistent. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the HEYER name gained prominence in various parts of Germany, including Bavaria, Württemberg, and the Rhineland.
One notable individual bearing this surname was Johann Heyer, a German theologian and author who lived from 1586 to 1659. He wrote several influential works on theology and philosophy, cementing the HEYER name's place in German intellectual circles.
In the 18th century, the HEYER surname made its way across the Atlantic Ocean to the American colonies. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in the New World was Johann Conrad Heyer, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1749 from the Palatinate region of Germany.
Another prominent figure with this surname was Wilhelm Heyer, a German botanist and taxonomist who lived from 1822 to 1896. He made significant contributions to the study of plant life and is remembered for his extensive work on the classification of mosses and liverworts.
As the centuries passed, the HEYER name continued to spread across Europe and the Americas, with individuals bearing this surname making their mark in various fields, including art, literature, and politics. For instance, Georgette Heyer, an English novelist born in 1902, was renowned for her historical romance novels set in the Regency era of England.
While the HEYER surname has its roots firmly planted in Germany, it has since become a global name, carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds and cultures, each contributing to the rich tapestry of human history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heyer
Among Census respondents with the surname Heyer, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Heyer 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 Heyer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.2% · 2,640
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 124
- Two or more races2.9% · 85
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 58
- Black or African American1.4% · 40
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Heyer
Heyer 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
#9,827
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,295
-6 bearers (-0.2%)
Per 100,000 1.12
Rank movement Down 727 places
2020
#10,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,961
-334 bearers (-10.1%)
Per 100,000 0.99
Rank movement Down 512 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,100 | 3,301 | 1.22 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,827 | 3,295 | 1.12 | -6 bearers (-0.2%) | Down 727 places |
| 2020 | #10,339 | 2,961 | 0.99 | -334 bearers (-10.1%) | Down 512 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 Heyer 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 | #9,827 | #10,339 | -5.2% |
| Count | 3,295 | 2,961 | -10.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.12 | 0.99 | -11.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Heyer bearers went from 3,295 to 2,961 (-10.1% change). The surname moved down 512 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,827 to #10,339.
FAQ
Heyer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Heyer?
Name Census estimates that about 3,395 living Americans carry the surname Heyer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 100,959 residents.
How common is Heyer?
Heyer ranks #10,339 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.99 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,961 people with the surname Heyer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,395), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.99 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.99 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Heyer.
Has Heyer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Heyer went from 3,295 recorded bearers to 2,961. That is a decrease of 334 (-10.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,827 to #10,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Heyer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Heyer, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.2%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Heyer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.2% (2,640 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Heyer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.2%), Hispanic (4.2%), Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Heyer (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 Heyer mean?
Derived from the Middle High German word "heier," meaning a tall or towering person. 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 Heyer (0.99 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 are called Heyer?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Heyer, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.