2000
#2,156
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,448
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.73
Uncommon Last name
Hillman
An English topographic surname referring to someone who lived on or near a hill.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 16,849 Americans carry the last name Hillman. That puts it at #2,416 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.92 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 20,343 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hillman 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 Hillman with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
17K
1 in 20,343
Census rank
#2,416
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
15K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 14,693 bearers of the surname Hillman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.92 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2416th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hillman, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.2%. The next largest groups are Black (13.5%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hillman
The surname "HILLMAN" is of English origin and dates back to the late 12th century. It is a locational name derived from one of the numerous places in England called "Hill". These places were named for their elevated topographical features or locations near hills.
The name "HILLMAN" is believed to have originated from the Old English words "hyll" meaning "hill" and "mann" meaning "man" or "person". It would have originally referred to someone who lived on or near a hill. The earliest recorded spelling of the name is thought to be "Hilleman" in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1195.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, there are several references to places called "Hill" or variations such as "Hille" and "la Hille". These would have been the precursors to the eventual surname "HILLMAN".
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname "HILLMAN" was John Hyllman, who was mentioned in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire in 1317. Another early bearer of the name was Richard Hyllman, who was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1327.
Noteworthy historical figures with the surname "HILLMAN" include:
1. Roger Hillman (c.1570-1655), an English clergyman and religious writer.
2. James Hillman (1926-2011), an American psychologist and influential figure in the field of Jungian psychology.
3. William Hillman (1849-1923), an American businessman and co-founder of the Hillman Coal and Coke Company.
4. Gustav Hillman (1880-1945), a Swedish-American labor leader and politician who served in the New York State Assembly.
5. Sidney Hillman (1887-1946), an American labor leader and prominent figure in the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO).
The name "HILLMAN" has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Hillman's Cross in Wiltshire, which was recorded as "Hilmanescruche" in the 13th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hillman
Among Census respondents with the surname Hillman, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.2%. The next largest groups are Black (13.5%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Hillman 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 Hillman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.2% · 11,491
- Black or African American13.5% · 1,981
- Two or more races3.8% · 562
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 453
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 138
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 68
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hillman
Hillman 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
#2,321
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,738
+290 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 5.34
Rank movement Down 165 places
2020
#2,416
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,693
-1,045 bearers (-6.6%)
Per 100,000 4.92
Rank movement Down 95 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,156 | 15,448 | 5.73 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,321 | 15,738 | 5.34 | +290 bearers (+1.9%) | Down 165 places |
| 2020 | #2,416 | 14,693 | 4.92 | -1,045 bearers (-6.6%) | Down 95 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 Hillman 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 | #2,321 | #2,416 | -4.1% |
| Count | 15,738 | 14,693 | -6.6% |
| Per 100K | 5.34 | 4.92 | -7.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hillman bearers went from 15,738 to 14,693 (-6.6% change). The surname moved down 95 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,321 to #2,416.
FAQ
Hillman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hillman?
Name Census estimates that about 16,849 living Americans carry the surname Hillman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 20,343 residents.
How common is Hillman?
Hillman ranks #2,416 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.92 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 14,693 people with the surname Hillman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (16,849), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.92 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.92 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Hillman.
Has Hillman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hillman went from 15,738 recorded bearers to 14,693. That is a decrease of 1,045 (-6.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,321 to #2,416.
What does the Census say about the background of Hillman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hillman, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.2%. The next largest groups are Black (13.5%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Hillman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.2% (11,491 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hillman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.2%), Black (13.5%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Hillman (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 Hillman mean?
An English topographic surname referring to someone who lived on or near 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 Hillman (4.92 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 Hillman?
You can see how common the surname Hillman is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.