2000
#2,589
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,867
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.77
Uncommon Last name
Hills
An English topographic surname for someone who lived on or near a hill.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 15,333 Americans carry the last name Hills. That puts it at #2,634 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.47 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 22,354 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hills 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 Hills with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
15K
1 in 22,354
Census rank
#2,634
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
13K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 13,371 bearers of the surname Hills in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.47 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2634th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hills, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.5%. The next largest groups are Black (28.9%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hills
The surname HILLS is of Anglo-Saxon origin and is derived from the Old English word "hyll," meaning a hill or elevated land. It is believed to have originated as a topographic name, referring to someone who lived near a hill or in a hilly area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as "de la Hille" in various counties across England, including Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Surrey.
In the 13th century, the surname appeared in various forms, such as "Atte Hille," "de la Hille," and "del Hille," reflecting the evolution of the English language and the transition from the Anglo-Norman spelling to the more modern form.
Notable individuals with the surname HILLS include John Hills (1590-1628), an English Puritan clergyman and author; Robert Hills (1769-1853), an English painter and engraver; and George Hills (1816-1895), an English librarian and bibliographer who served as the Principal Librarian of the British Museum.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Sir John Hills (1834-1902), a British civil engineer and industrialist who played a significant role in the construction of railways and bridges in India during the 19th century.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname HILLS was Joseph Hills (1602-1688), an English settler who arrived in Massachusetts in the 1630s and became a prominent figure in the colonial government.
The name HILLS has also been associated with various place names throughout history, such as Hillsborough in County Down, Northern Ireland, which is believed to have derived its name from the Old English "Hylles" and "burh," meaning a fortified place on a hill.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hills
Among Census respondents with the surname Hills, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.5%. The next largest groups are Black (28.9%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Hills 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 Hills surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.5% · 8,353
- Black or African American28.9% · 3,866
- Two or more races3.9% · 518
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 446
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 115
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 73
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hills
Hills 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
#2,608
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,829
+962 bearers (+7.5%)
Per 100,000 4.69
Rank movement Down 19 places
2020
#2,634
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,371
-458 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 4.47
Rank movement Down 26 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,589 | 12,867 | 4.77 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,608 | 13,829 | 4.69 | +962 bearers (+7.5%) | Down 19 places |
| 2020 | #2,634 | 13,371 | 4.47 | -458 bearers (-3.3%) | Down 26 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 Hills 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 | #2,608 | #2,634 | -1.0% |
| Count | 13,829 | 13,371 | -3.3% |
| Per 100K | 4.69 | 4.47 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hills bearers went from 13,829 to 13,371 (-3.3% change). The surname moved down 26 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,608 to #2,634.
FAQ
Hills surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hills?
Name Census estimates that about 15,333 living Americans carry the surname Hills. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 22,354 residents.
How common is Hills?
Hills ranks #2,634 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.47 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 13,371 people with the surname Hills. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (15,333), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.47 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.47 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Hills.
Has Hills become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hills went from 13,829 recorded bearers to 13,371. That is a decrease of 458 (-3.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,608 to #2,634.
What does the Census say about the background of Hills?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hills, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.5%. The next largest groups are Black (28.9%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Hills in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.5% (8,353 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hills appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (62.5%), Black (28.9%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Hills (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 Hills mean?
An English topographic surname for 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 Hills (4.47 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 Hills?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.