2010
#134,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 125
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Hillebert
A Teutonic surname derived from Germanic personal names containing the element "hild" meaning battle.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 123 Americans carry the last name Hillebert. That puts it at #151,639 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,786,621 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hillebert 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
123
1 in 2,786,621
Census rank
#151,639
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
107
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 107 bearers of the surname Hillebert in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 151639th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hillebert, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.5%) and Two or More Races (5.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hillebert
The surname Hillebert has its origins in Germany, emerging during the Middle Ages around the 11th or 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German words "hill," meaning a hill or elevated land, and "bert," a common Germanic name component meaning bright or shining.
One of the earliest known references to the name Hillebert can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval documents from the region of Saxony, dating back to the 12th century. The name appears in various spellings, such as Hillebertus and Hilbertus, indicating its presence in the region during that time.
In the 13th century, records from the town of Hilbersdorf, located in present-day Saxony, mention individuals with the surname Hillebert or variations thereof. This suggests a possible connection between the name and the place name, though the exact origin remains uncertain.
One notable figure bearing the Hillebert name was Johann Hillebert, a German theologian and reformer born in 1484 in Saxony. He played a significant role in the Reformation movement and was a close associate of Martin Luther.
Another individual of historical significance was Friedrich Hillebert, a German philosopher and writer who lived in the 18th century (1721-1796). He was known for his contributions to the Enlightenment movement and his works on ethics and moral philosophy.
In the realm of art, the name Hillebert is associated with the Dutch painter Pieter Hillebert (1589-1661). He was renowned for his landscape paintings and was a prominent figure in the Dutch Golden Age of painting.
The Hillebert surname also has a presence in other European countries, such as France and England, where variations like Hilbert and Hillebert can be found in historical records from the 13th and 14th centuries.
It is worth noting that the Hillebert surname has seen various spelling variations throughout history, including Hilbert, Hillbert, Hillebrecht, and Hillebrand, reflecting regional and linguistic influences on the name's evolution.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hillebert
Among Census respondents with the surname Hillebert, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.5%) and Two or More Races (5.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Hillebert 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 Hillebert surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.2% · 89
- Hispanic or Latino6.5% · 7
- Two or more races5.6% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.8% · 3
- Black or African American1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hillebert
Hillebert appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#151,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
-18 bearers (-14.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 16,927 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #134,712 | 125 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #151,639 | 107 | 0.04 | -18 bearers (-14.4%) | Down 16,927 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 Hillebert 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 | #134,712 | #151,639 | -12.6% |
| Count | 125 | 107 | -14.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hillebert bearers went from 125 to 107 (-14.4% change). The surname moved down 16,927 positions in the national ranking, going from #134,712 to #151,639.
FAQ
Hillebert surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hillebert?
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the surname Hillebert. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,786,621 residents.
How common is Hillebert?
Hillebert ranks #151,639 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 107 people with the surname Hillebert. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (123), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Hillebert.
Has Hillebert become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hillebert went from 125 recorded bearers to 107. That is a decrease of 18 (-14.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #134,712 to #151,639.
What does the Census say about the background of Hillebert?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hillebert, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.5%) and Two or More Races (5.6%). 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 Hillebert in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.2% (89 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hillebert appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.2%), Hispanic (6.5%), Two or More Races (5.6%). 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 Hillebert (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 Hillebert mean?
A Teutonic surname derived from Germanic personal names containing the element "hild" meaning battle. 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 Hillebert (0.04 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 common is the surname Hillebert?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Hillebert? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.