2000
#134,037
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Hilstad
A Norwegian topographic name referring to someone living on a slope.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 116 Americans carry the last name Hilstad. That puts it at #155,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,954,779 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hilstad 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
116
1 in 2,954,779
Census rank
#155,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
101
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 101 bearers of the surname Hilstad in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hilstad, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hilstad
The surname Hilstad is of Norwegian origin and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old Norse words "hilla" meaning "hill" and "stadr" meaning "place" or "homestead". The name originated in the rural areas of western Norway, where many families lived on farms and named themselves after the geographic features of their land.
Hilstad is believed to have first appeared in historical records around 1275, when a man named Torbjørn Hilstad was mentioned in a legal document from the region of Hordaland. This document detailed a land dispute between Torbjørn and a neighboring farmer over grazing rights for their livestock.
In the 14th century, the name Hilstad appeared in several church records and census documents from the Rogaland area of western Norway. These records indicate that the name was particularly prevalent in the rural parishes surrounding the towns of Stavanger and Haugesund.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Hilstad name was Sigrid Hilstad, a wealthy landowner who lived in the village of Vikedal in the late 1400s. Sigrid was renowned for her generosity and donated a significant portion of her estate to the local church upon her death in 1498.
Another notable figure with the Hilstad surname was Hans Hilstad, a Norwegian explorer and navigator who was part of the crew on several expeditions to the Arctic regions in the late 16th century. Hans Hilstad was born in 1562 in the town of Skudeneshavn and is believed to have died at sea around 1602.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Hilstad name continued to be well-represented in various parts of western Norway, with several families of that name holding prominent positions in local government and the fishing industry.
One of the most famous individuals with the Hilstad surname was Nils Hilstad, a renowned Norwegian folk musician and composer who lived from 1823 to 1890. Nils Hilstad is credited with preserving and popularizing many traditional Norwegian fiddle tunes and folk songs from the Rogaland region.
Another noteworthy bearer of the Hilstad name was Ingrid Hilstad, a Norwegian author and women's rights activist who was born in 1855 and died in 1936. Ingrid Hilstad was a founding member of the Norwegian Association for Women's Rights and wrote several influential works on the role of women in Norwegian society.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hilstad
Among Census respondents with the surname Hilstad, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Hilstad 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 Hilstad surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.0% · 96
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 2
- Two or more races2.0% · 2
- Black or African American1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hilstad
Hilstad 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
#147,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
-4 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 13,216 places
2020
#155,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
-11 bearers (-9.8%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 8,017 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,037 | 116 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #147,253 | 112 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.4%) | Down 13,216 places |
| 2020 | #155,270 | 101 | 0.03 | -11 bearers (-9.8%) | Down 8,017 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 Hilstad 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 | #147,253 | #155,270 | -5.4% |
| Count | 112 | 101 | -9.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -15.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hilstad bearers went from 112 to 101 (-9.8% change). The surname moved down 8,017 positions in the national ranking, going from #147,253 to #155,270.
FAQ
Hilstad surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hilstad?
Name Census estimates that about 116 living Americans carry the surname Hilstad. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,954,779 residents.
How common is Hilstad?
Hilstad ranks #155,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 101 people with the surname Hilstad. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (116), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Hilstad.
Has Hilstad become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hilstad went from 112 recorded bearers to 101. That is a decrease of 11 (-9.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #147,253 to #155,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Hilstad?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hilstad, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.0%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%) 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 Hilstad in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.0% (96 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hilstad appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.0%), American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%), 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 Hilstad (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 Hilstad mean?
A Norwegian topographic name referring to someone living on a slope. 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 Hilstad (0.03 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 common is the surname Hilstad?
See how many people are called Hilstad on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.