2000
#10,139
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,922
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.08
Rare Last name
Hilderbrand
A German habitational surname denoting someone from a place called Hildesbrand, derived from the Old High German words "hiltja" (battle) and "brant" (fire).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,136 Americans carry the last name Hilderbrand. That puts it at #11,077 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.92 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 109,297 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hilderbrand 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
3.1K
1 in 109,297
Census rank
#11,077
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,735 bearers of the surname Hilderbrand in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.92 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11077th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hilderbrand, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hilderbrand
The surname Hilderbrand originated in Germany during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old German words "hildr," meaning battle, and "brant," meaning sword or flame. The name likely referred to a fierce warrior or someone who wielded a sword in battle.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, Germany, dating back to the 9th century. The name is spelled "Hildebrand" in these records.
In the 11th century, the name is found in the Domesday Book, a survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The Domesday Book mentions a landowner named Hildebrand in the county of Somerset.
During the 12th century, a notable figure named Hildebrand von Huneveld (1150-1227) was a German nobleman and crusader who participated in the Third Crusade. He is mentioned in several chronicles from that era.
In the 14th century, a German priest and scholar named Heinrich Hilderbrand (1305-1378) was a prominent figure in the Holy Roman Empire. He wrote several treatises on theology and philosophy that were influential during his time.
Another notable bearer of the name was Johann Hilderbrand (1563-1628), a German mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the development of logarithms and the study of planetary motion.
The name Hilderbrand has also been associated with various place names throughout Europe, such as Hilderbrandshausen in Germany and Hilderbrandston in Sweden. These place names likely derived from individuals with the surname Hilderbrand who settled or owned land in those areas.
Over the centuries, the name has evolved into various spellings, including Hildebrand, Hillebrand, and Hillenbrand, reflecting regional variations and linguistic influences.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hilderbrand
Among Census respondents with the surname Hilderbrand, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Hilderbrand 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 Hilderbrand surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.6% · 2,396
- Two or more races4.6% · 127
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 88
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 54
- Black or African American1.9% · 52
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 18
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hilderbrand
Hilderbrand 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
#10,348
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,113
+191 bearers (+6.5%)
Per 100,000 1.06
Rank movement Down 209 places
2020
#11,077
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,735
-378 bearers (-12.1%)
Per 100,000 0.92
Rank movement Down 729 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,139 | 2,922 | 1.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,348 | 3,113 | 1.06 | +191 bearers (+6.5%) | Down 209 places |
| 2020 | #11,077 | 2,735 | 0.92 | -378 bearers (-12.1%) | Down 729 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 Hilderbrand 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 | #10,348 | #11,077 | -7.0% |
| Count | 3,113 | 2,735 | -12.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.06 | 0.92 | -13.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hilderbrand bearers went from 3,113 to 2,735 (-12.1% change). The surname moved down 729 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,348 to #11,077.
FAQ
Hilderbrand surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hilderbrand?
Name Census estimates that about 3,136 living Americans carry the surname Hilderbrand. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 109,297 residents.
How common is Hilderbrand?
Hilderbrand ranks #11,077 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.92 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 2,735 people with the surname Hilderbrand. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,136), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.92 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.92 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 Hilderbrand.
Has Hilderbrand become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hilderbrand went from 3,113 recorded bearers to 2,735. That is a decrease of 378 (-12.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,348 to #11,077.
What does the Census say about the background of Hilderbrand?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hilderbrand, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.6%) and Hispanic (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 Hilderbrand in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.6% (2,396 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hilderbrand appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.6%), Two or More Races (4.6%), Hispanic (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 Hilderbrand (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 Hilderbrand mean?
A German habitational surname denoting someone from a place called Hildesbrand, derived from the Old High German words "hiltja" (battle) and "brant" (fire). 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 Hilderbrand (0.92 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 Hilderbrand?
Want to know how many people are called Hilderbrand? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.