2000
#17,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,511
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.56
Rare Last name
Hildenbrand
A German surname meaning "fighter from the battle slope".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,781 Americans carry the last name Hildenbrand. That puts it at #17,746 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.52 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 192,450 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hildenbrand 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
1.8K
1 in 192,450
Census rank
#17,746
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,553 bearers of the surname Hildenbrand in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.52 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 17746th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hildenbrand, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hildenbrand
The surname Hildenbrand is of German origin, originating in the regions of Bavaria and Württemberg. It is believed to have emerged in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. The name is derived from the Old German words "hildi" meaning "battle" and "brand" meaning "sword" or "firebrand," suggesting that the name may have originated as a descriptive nickname for a fierce or courageous warrior.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hildenbrand can be found in the Württemberg tax records of the late 15th century, where a certain Hans Hildenbrand is mentioned. In the 16th century, there are records of a Hildenbrand family residing in the town of Nürnberg, which was a prominent center of trade and culture during the Renaissance period.
The name Hildenbrand appears to have been relatively uncommon in historical records, but there are a few notable individuals who bore this surname. One such individual was Johann Hildenbrand (1623-1703), a German composer and organist who served at the court of the Duke of Württemberg. Another was Johann Valentin Hildenbrand (1763-1818), a German physician and botanist who made significant contributions to the study of plant taxonomy.
In the 19th century, a Hildenbrand family settled in the United States, with Johann Hildenbrand (1811-1890) immigrating from Bavaria to Ohio in the 1840s. His son, William Hildenbrand (1845-1917), became a prominent businessman and philanthropist in the Cincinnati area.
Another noteworthy individual with the surname Hildenbrand was the German writer and critic, Wilhelm Hildenbrand (1821-1891), who was known for his works on German literature and culture. He was a contemporary of the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and participated in the intellectual discourse of the time.
The name Hildenbrand has also been associated with various place names in Germany, such as Hildenbrandseck, a district in the city of Cologne, and Hildenbrandshausen, a village in the state of Thuringia. These place names likely originated from individuals bearing the surname Hildenbrand who resided in or were associated with those locations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hildenbrand
Among Census respondents with the surname Hildenbrand, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Hildenbrand 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 Hildenbrand surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.3% · 1,402
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 64
- Two or more races3.8% · 59
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 18
- Black or African American0.5% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hildenbrand
Hildenbrand 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
#26,887
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 903
-608 bearers (-40.2%)
Per 100,000 0.31
Rank movement Down 9,634 places
2020
#17,746
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,553
+650 bearers (+72.0%)
Per 100,000 0.52
Rank movement Up 9,141 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #17,253 | 1,511 | 0.56 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #26,887 | 903 | 0.31 | -608 bearers (-40.2%) | Down 9,634 places |
| 2020 | #17,746 | 1,553 | 0.52 | +650 bearers (+72.0%) | Up 9,141 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 Hildenbrand 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 | #26,887 | #17,746 | 34.0% |
| Count | 903 | 1,553 | 72.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.31 | 0.52 | 67.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hildenbrand bearers went from 903 to 1,553 (+72.0% change). The surname moved up 9,141 positions in the national ranking, going from #26,887 to #17,746.
FAQ
Hildenbrand surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hildenbrand?
Name Census estimates that about 1,781 living Americans carry the surname Hildenbrand. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 192,450 residents.
How common is Hildenbrand?
Hildenbrand ranks #17,746 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.52 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 1,553 people with the surname Hildenbrand. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,781), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.52 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.52 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 Hildenbrand.
Has Hildenbrand become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hildenbrand went from 903 recorded bearers to 1,553. That is an increase of 650 (+72.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #26,887 to #17,746.
What does the Census say about the background of Hildenbrand?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hildenbrand, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.1%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Hildenbrand in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.3% (1,402 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hildenbrand appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.3%), Hispanic (4.1%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Hildenbrand (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 Hildenbrand mean?
A German surname meaning "fighter from the battle slope". 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 Hildenbrand (0.52 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 Hildenbrand?
You can see how common the surname Hildenbrand is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.