2010
#154,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Hillenberg
A surname derived from a place name referring to a hill or elevated location.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Hillenberg. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hillenberg 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
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Hillenberg in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hillenberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.8%) and Black (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hillenberg
The surname Hillenberg is of German origin, originating in the late 15th century. It is derived from the German words "Hügel" meaning "hill" and "Berg" meaning "mountain," suggesting that the name was likely given to someone who lived near or on a hill or mountain. The earliest known spelling of the name was "Hügelenberg," which later evolved into the modern form of "Hillenberg."
The name can be traced back to the region of Bavaria in southern Germany, where it was first recorded in the town of Augsburg. One of the earliest known mentions of the name is in a 1492 tax record from the city, which lists a "Hans Hügelenberg" as a landowner.
In the 16th century, the Hillenberg name appears in several historical documents from the region, including church records and legal documents. One notable example is the 1547 birth record of "Jakob Hillenberg" in the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
The Hillenberg name also has ties to the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), with a "Captain Friedrich Hillenberg" mentioned in a 1632 military dispatch as leading a regiment of soldiers in the service of the Holy Roman Empire.
Over the centuries, the Hillenberg surname has been associated with several notable individuals. One of the earliest was Hans Hillenberg (1495-1564), a master woodcarver and sculptor who created intricate altarpieces and religious artwork for churches throughout Bavaria.
Another notable figure was Katharina Hillenberg (1632-1705), a renowned herbalist and midwife in the town of Nürnberg, whose expertise in natural remedies and healing practices was widely sought after.
In the 19th century, Johann Hillenberg (1824-1892) was a prominent German-American brewer and entrepreneur who founded the Hillenberg Brewing Company in Philadelphia, which became one of the largest breweries in the city during the late 1800s.
The name Hillenberg has also been associated with several place names in Germany, such as the village of Hillenberg in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and the Hillenberg mountain range in the Black Forest region of Baden-Württemberg.
Finally, one of the most recent historical figures with the Hillenberg surname was Wilhelm Hillenberg (1892-1972), a German architect and urban planner who was instrumental in the reconstruction and redesign of several cities in post-World War II Germany, including Cologne and Frankfurt.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hillenberg
Among Census respondents with the surname Hillenberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.8%) and Black (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Hillenberg 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 Hillenberg surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.3% · 96
- Two or more races4.8% · 5
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hillenberg
Hillenberg 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
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-1 bearers (-1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 1,317 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #154,907 | 105 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | -1 bearers (-1.0%) | Up 1,317 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 Hillenberg 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 | #154,907 | #153,590 | 0.9% |
| Count | 105 | 104 | -1.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hillenberg bearers went from 105 to 104 (-1.0% change). The surname moved up 1,317 positions in the national ranking, going from #154,907 to #153,590.
FAQ
Hillenberg surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hillenberg?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Hillenberg. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Hillenberg?
Hillenberg ranks #153,590 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 104 people with the surname Hillenberg. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Hillenberg.
Has Hillenberg become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hillenberg went from 105 recorded bearers to 104. That is a decrease of 1 (-1.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #154,907 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Hillenberg?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hillenberg, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.8%) and Black (1.0%). 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 Hillenberg in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.3% (96 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hillenberg appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.3%), Two or More Races (4.8%), Black (1.0%). 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 Hillenberg (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 Hillenberg mean?
A surname derived from a place name referring to a hill or elevated location. 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 Hillenberg (0.03 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 share the surname Hillenberg?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.