2000
#17,719
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,458
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.54
Rare Last name
Hillenbrand
A German topographic surname referring to someone living near or on a hillside cleared by fire.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,377 Americans carry the last name Hillenbrand. That puts it at #22,053 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.40 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 248,914 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hillenbrand 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
1.4K
1 in 248,914
Census rank
#22,053
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,201 bearers of the surname Hillenbrand in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.40 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 22053rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hillenbrand, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.4%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hillenbrand
The surname Hillenbrand originated in Germany and dates back to the 13th century. It is a locational name derived from the German words "Hille" meaning "hill" and "brand" meaning "clearing," referring to someone who lived near a hill clearing or burned area.
The name is believed to have first appeared in the southern regions of Germany, particularly in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, where many place names contain the word "Hille." It may have originated as a descriptive name for someone living near a specific geographical feature or as a habitational name for someone who came from a place called Hillenbrand.
Early records of the name can be found in various medieval German documents and chronicles. One notable mention is in the "Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae," a collection of Saxon charters and documents from the 13th century, where the name "Hillenbrand" is recorded as a witness to a land transaction.
The earliest known bearer of the surname Hillenbrand was Hans Hillenbrand, a farmer and landowner who lived in the village of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Bavaria, in the late 14th century. Another early recorded individual was Johannes Hillenbrand, a monk and scribe who lived in the Benedictine monastery of Tegernsee in the early 15th century.
In the 16th century, the surname appears in various German town records, such as the "Bürgerbuch" (citizen book) of Nuremberg, where several Hillenbrand families are listed as residents. One notable figure from this period was Georg Hillenbrand (1516-1589), a wealthy merchant and city councilor in the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Hillenbrand name spread throughout Germany and neighboring regions. Johann Michael Hillenbrand (1655-1722) was a renowned painter and engraver from Augsburg, known for his religious works and portraits. Another notable figure was Johann Baptist Hillenbrand (1743-1816), a Bavarian politician and jurist who served as the mayor of Munich.
In the 19th century, the surname Hillenbrand continued to be prominent in various fields. August Hillenbrand (1822-1892) was a German-American entrepreneur and founder of the Hillenbrand Furniture Company in Batesville, Indiana. Hans Hillenbrand (1877-1954) was a German architect known for his designs of public buildings and churches in Munich.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hillenbrand
Among Census respondents with the surname Hillenbrand, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.4%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Hillenbrand 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 Hillenbrand surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.2% · 1,143
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 29
- Two or more races2.0% · 24
- Black or African American0.2% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hillenbrand
Hillenbrand 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
#13,491
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,252
+794 bearers (+54.5%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Up 4,228 places
2020
#22,053
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,201
-1,051 bearers (-46.7%)
Per 100,000 0.40
Rank movement Down 8,562 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #17,719 | 1,458 | 0.54 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,491 | 2,252 | 0.76 | +794 bearers (+54.5%) | Up 4,228 places |
| 2020 | #22,053 | 1,201 | 0.40 | -1,051 bearers (-46.7%) | Down 8,562 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 Hillenbrand 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 | #13,491 | #22,053 | -63.5% |
| Count | 2,252 | 1,201 | -46.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.76 | 0.40 | -47.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hillenbrand bearers went from 2,252 to 1,201 (-46.7% change). The surname moved down 8,562 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,491 to #22,053.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hillenbrand
FAQ
Hillenbrand surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hillenbrand?
Name Census estimates that about 1,377 living Americans carry the surname Hillenbrand. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 248,914 residents.
How common is Hillenbrand?
Hillenbrand ranks #22,053 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.40 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 1,201 people with the surname Hillenbrand. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,377), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.4 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.40 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 Hillenbrand.
Has Hillenbrand become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hillenbrand went from 2,252 recorded bearers to 1,201. That is a decrease of 1,051 (-46.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,491 to #22,053.
What does the Census say about the background of Hillenbrand?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hillenbrand, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.4%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Hillenbrand in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.2% (1,143 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hillenbrand appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.2%), Hispanic (2.4%), Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Hillenbrand (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 Hillenbrand mean?
A German topographic surname referring to someone living near or on a hillside cleared by 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 Hillenbrand (0.40 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 are called Hillenbrand?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Hillenbrand at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.