2000
#1,675
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,564
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.25
Uncommon Last name
Hilliard
Derived from a place name meaning "hill-yard," referring to a fenced enclosure on a hill.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 22,381 Americans carry the last name Hilliard. That puts it at #1,799 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.53 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 15,315 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hilliard 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Hilliard with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
22K
1 in 15,315
Census rank
#1,799
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
20K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 19,517 bearers of the surname Hilliard in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.53 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1799th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hilliard, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.3%. The next largest groups are Black (29.9%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hilliard
The surname Hilliard originated in England, deriving from the medieval given name Hilliard or Hildyard. This name is a combination of the Germanic elements 'hild' meaning 'battle' and 'gard' meaning 'enclosed yard or garden'. The earliest records of the name date back to the 12th century in parts of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Radulfus Hildeierd, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1166. The Hilliard family was also recorded in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, which were ancient censuses of households in England. The name appeared in various spellings such as Hildyard, Hildiard, and Hillierd during the Middle Ages.
The Hilliard surname is closely associated with the village of Winestead in Holderness, Yorkshire, where the family held lands and a manor house from the 13th century onwards. Notable members of the Winestead Hilliards include Thomas Hilliard (c.1505-1567), who served as the Clerk of the Court of Wards and Liveries under King Henry VIII and Edward VI.
Another prominent figure was Nicholas Hilliard (c.1537-1619), a renowned English goldsmith, limner, and painter who became a famous portrait artist during the Elizabethan era. He painted miniature portraits of Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Walter Raleigh, and other notable figures of the time.
In the 17th century, the Hilliard family spread to other parts of England, including Berkshire and Wiltshire. One notable bearer was Thomas Hilliard (1624-1694), an English clergyman and religious writer who served as the vicar of Chilmark in Wiltshire.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, several Hilliards achieved distinction in various fields. These include John Hilliard (1778-1835), an English engraver known for his landscape etchings, and Henry Washington Hilliard (1808-1892), an American lawyer, politician, and writer who served as a United States Representative from Alabama.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hilliard
Among Census respondents with the surname Hilliard, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.3%. The next largest groups are Black (29.9%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Hilliard 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 Hilliard surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.3% · 12,159
- Black or African American29.9% · 5,836
- Two or more races4.2% · 813
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 522
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 111
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 76
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hilliard
Hilliard 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
#1,756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,377
+813 bearers (+4.2%)
Per 100,000 6.91
Rank movement Down 81 places
2020
#1,799
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,517
-860 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 6.53
Rank movement Down 43 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,675 | 19,564 | 7.25 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,756 | 20,377 | 6.91 | +813 bearers (+4.2%) | Down 81 places |
| 2020 | #1,799 | 19,517 | 6.53 | -860 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 43 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 Hilliard 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 | #1,756 | #1,799 | -2.4% |
| Count | 20,377 | 19,517 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 6.91 | 6.53 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hilliard bearers went from 20,377 to 19,517 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 43 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,756 to #1,799.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hilliard
FAQ
Hilliard surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hilliard?
Name Census estimates that about 22,381 living Americans carry the surname Hilliard. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 15,315 residents.
How common is Hilliard?
Hilliard ranks #1,799 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.53 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 19,517 people with the surname Hilliard. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (22,381), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.53 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.53 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Hilliard.
Has Hilliard become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hilliard went from 20,377 recorded bearers to 19,517. That is a decrease of 860 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,756 to #1,799.
What does the Census say about the background of Hilliard?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hilliard, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.3%. The next largest groups are Black (29.9%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Hilliard in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.3% (12,159 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hilliard appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (62.3%), Black (29.9%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Hilliard (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 Hilliard mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "hill-yard," referring to a fenced enclosure on a hill. 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 Hilliard (6.53 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 Hilliard?
You can see how many Americans have the surname Hilliard on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.