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

Hildebrand, 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 Hildebrand surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hildebrand in America

Hildebrand is the 3072nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hildebrand surname appeared 11,687 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Hildebrand.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hildebrand 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 Hildebrand

The surname Hildebrand originated in Germany during the medieval period. It derives from the Old Germanic words "hild" meaning battle and "brand" meaning sword, thus literally translating to "battle-sword". The name was likely used to describe a fierce warrior or soldier.

The name can be traced back to the 8th century, with one of the earliest recorded instances appearing in the Codex Laureshamensis, an important medieval manuscript from the Lorsch Abbey in present-day Germany. In this text, a nobleman named Hildebrand von Ripuarien is mentioned.

Another early reference comes from the Nibelungenlied, a famous German epic poem dating back to around 1200 AD. One of the main characters is a warrior named Hildebrand who serves under King Gunther.

The Hildebrand surname appeared in various historic records throughout the Middle Ages, including the Domesday Book of 1086 which catalogued landowners in England after the Norman Conquest. An entry lists a landowner named Hildebrand in Gloucestershire.

Notable individuals with the Hildebrand surname include Pope Gregory VII (c.1020-1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana in Tuscany, who played a key role in the Investiture Controversy against the Holy Roman Emperor. Georg Friedrich Hildebrand (1764-1826) was a German theologian and writer. Rudolf Hildebrand (1824-1894) was a German sculptor celebrated for his works in Berlin.

Ferdinand Tönnies (1855-1936), a German sociologist and philosopher, was born Ferdinand Hildebrand before changing his surname. Hans Hildebrand (1901-1989) served as a general in the German Army during World War II. More recently, Heinrich Hildebrand (1919-2011) was an influential Austrian architect.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hildebrand

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

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

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

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