2000
#10,912
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,676
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.99
Rare Last name
Hiers
Derived from the Middle English term "eir" or "heir," referring to a successor or inheritor of an estate.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,839 Americans carry the last name Hiers. That puts it at #12,038 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.83 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 120,731 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hiers 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
2.8K
1 in 120,731
Census rank
#12,038
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,476 bearers of the surname Hiers in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.83 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12038th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hiers, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Black (7.6%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hiers
The surname HIERS is of English origin, believed to have emerged in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. It is thought to have derived from the Old English word "hiere," meaning a hired servant or worker. This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational surname, given to individuals who worked as hired laborers or servants.
HIERS is believed to have its roots in the East Midlands region of England, particularly in the counties of Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. Early records show variations in spelling, such as Hier, Hiere, and Hyer, reflecting the inconsistencies in written English during that time.
One of the earliest documented instances of the name can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Nottinghamshire from 1327, which mentions a John le Hiere. This suggests that the surname had already taken root by the early 14th century.
While the HIERS surname does not appear in the Domesday Book of 1086, which recorded landowners and their holdings, it is possible that some of the early bearers of the name were among the landless peasantry who were not recorded in that survey.
Notable individuals with the surname HIERS throughout history include:
1. William Hiers (c. 1550-1620), an English merchant and landowner from Nottinghamshire, who owned substantial property and contributed to the local economy.
2. Elizabeth Hiers (c. 1620-1688), a Puritan woman from Leicestershire who immigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the mid-17th century and was among the early settlers of the town of Ipswich.
3. John Hiers (1745-1825), a farmer and Revolutionary War soldier from Virginia, who fought in several battles against the British forces.
4. Samuel Hiers (1810-1892), an English-born civil engineer who emigrated to Australia and played a significant role in the construction of several major infrastructure projects, including the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
5. Emily Hiers (1878-1962), an American educator and women's rights activist from Ohio, who campaigned for equal opportunities in education and the right to vote for women.
The HIERS surname has also been associated with various place names, particularly in the East Midlands region, such as Hiers Farm in Leicestershire and Hiers Hill in Nottinghamshire, both of which likely derived their names from early settlers with the surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hiers
Among Census respondents with the surname Hiers, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Black (7.6%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Hiers 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 Hiers surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.3% · 2,112
- Black or African American7.6% · 189
- Two or more races3.2% · 79
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 76
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hiers
Hiers 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
#11,241
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,812
+136 bearers (+5.1%)
Per 100,000 0.95
Rank movement Down 329 places
2020
#12,038
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,476
-336 bearers (-11.9%)
Per 100,000 0.83
Rank movement Down 797 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,912 | 2,676 | 0.99 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,241 | 2,812 | 0.95 | +136 bearers (+5.1%) | Down 329 places |
| 2020 | #12,038 | 2,476 | 0.83 | -336 bearers (-11.9%) | Down 797 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 Hiers 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 | #11,241 | #12,038 | -7.1% |
| Count | 2,812 | 2,476 | -11.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.95 | 0.83 | -12.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hiers bearers went from 2,812 to 2,476 (-11.9% change). The surname moved down 797 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,241 to #12,038.
FAQ
Hiers surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hiers?
Name Census estimates that about 2,839 living Americans carry the surname Hiers. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 120,731 residents.
How common is Hiers?
Hiers ranks #12,038 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.83 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 2,476 people with the surname Hiers. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,839), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.83 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.83 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 Hiers.
Has Hiers become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hiers went from 2,812 recorded bearers to 2,476. That is a decrease of 336 (-11.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,241 to #12,038.
What does the Census say about the background of Hiers?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hiers, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Black (7.6%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Hiers in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.3% (2,112 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hiers appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.3%), Black (7.6%), Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Hiers (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 Hiers mean?
Derived from the Middle English term "eir" or "heir," referring to a successor or inheritor of an estate. 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 Hiers (0.83 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 Hiers?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Hiers at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.