2000
#13,685
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,033
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.75
Rare Last name
Hilliker
An English toponymic surname referring to someone who lived on or near a hillside.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,183 Americans carry the last name Hilliker. That puts it at #14,916 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.64 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 157,011 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hilliker 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
2.2K
1 in 157,011
Census rank
#14,916
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,904 bearers of the surname Hilliker in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.64 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14916th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hilliker, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hilliker
The surname Hilliker is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Old English words "hyll" meaning hill and "eker" meaning an acre or field. This suggests that the name may have been originally given to someone who lived or worked on a hill or elevated field.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hilliker can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273, where it is listed as "Hilloker". This indicates that the name had already taken root in the region by the 13th century.
The Hilliker surname appears to have been particularly prevalent in the counties of Oxfordshire and Warwickshire during the Middle Ages. Records show instances of the name being spelled in various ways, such as "Hilloker", "Hilleker", and "Hillyker", reflecting the evolving spelling conventions of the time.
A notable early bearer of the name was Sir John Hilliker, a knight who fought in the Wars of the Roses during the 15th century. He is mentioned in several historical accounts of the conflict, although the exact dates of his birth and death are unknown.
In the 16th century, the name appears in the records of the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, with a Thomas Hilliker being listed as a landowner in 1586. This suggests that the family had established itself in the area by that time.
Another notable figure was William Hilliker, a merchant and alderman in the city of London during the 17th century. He was born in 1621 and played a significant role in the city's governance during the latter part of his life.
In the 18th century, the Hilliker family had spread to other parts of England, with records showing instances of the name in counties such as Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.
One of the most prominent Hillikers of this period was Sir Thomas Hilliker, a wealthy landowner and philanthropist who lived from 1735 to 1812. He is known for his charitable works and the establishment of several schools in his local area.
As the centuries progressed, the Hilliker name continued to be found across various regions of England, with some bearers emigrating to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hilliker
Among Census respondents with the surname Hilliker, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Hilliker 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 Hilliker surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.0% · 1,752
- Two or more races4.3% · 82
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 47
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 8
- Black or African American0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hilliker
Hilliker 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
#13,855
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,181
+148 bearers (+7.3%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Down 170 places
2020
#14,916
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,904
-277 bearers (-12.7%)
Per 100,000 0.64
Rank movement Down 1,061 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,685 | 2,033 | 0.75 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,855 | 2,181 | 0.74 | +148 bearers (+7.3%) | Down 170 places |
| 2020 | #14,916 | 1,904 | 0.64 | -277 bearers (-12.7%) | Down 1,061 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 Hilliker 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 | #13,855 | #14,916 | -7.7% |
| Count | 2,181 | 1,904 | -12.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.74 | 0.64 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hilliker bearers went from 2,181 to 1,904 (-12.7% change). The surname moved down 1,061 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,855 to #14,916.
FAQ
Hilliker surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hilliker?
Name Census estimates that about 2,183 living Americans carry the surname Hilliker. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 157,011 residents.
How common is Hilliker?
Hilliker ranks #14,916 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.64 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 1,904 people with the surname Hilliker. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,183), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.64 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.64 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 Hilliker.
Has Hilliker become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hilliker went from 2,181 recorded bearers to 1,904. That is a decrease of 277 (-12.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,855 to #14,916.
What does the Census say about the background of Hilliker?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hilliker, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Hilliker in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.0% (1,752 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hilliker appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.0%), Two or More Races (4.3%), Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Hilliker (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 Hilliker mean?
An English toponymic surname referring to someone who lived on or near a hillside. 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 Hilliker (0.64 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 Americans have the surname Hilliker?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.