2000
#9,835
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,032
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.12
Rare Last name
Hilt
A variant of Hield, an occupational surname for a keeper of animals or a person who tended cattle.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,345 Americans carry the last name Hilt. That puts it at #10,498 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.98 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 102,468 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hilt 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
3.3K
1 in 102,468
Census rank
#10,498
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,917 bearers of the surname Hilt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.98 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10498th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hilt, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Black (6.7%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hilt
The surname HILT originated in Germany and dates back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Middle High German word "hilte," meaning "hilt" or "grip" of a sword or dagger. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to a person who made or sold sword hilts or grips.
The earliest recorded instances of the HILT surname can be found in the German towns of Cologne and Frankfurt, where it appeared in medieval tax records and guild registers. Some variations of the spelling include Hilte, Hilten, and Hilter.
One of the earliest known bearers of the HILT name was Johannes Hilte, a sword maker from Cologne who lived in the late 14th century. His name appeared in the city's guild records from 1387.
In the 16th century, the HILT surname began to spread beyond Germany, with some families settling in the Netherlands and Switzerland. One notable Swiss bearer of the name was Hans Hilt, a Protestant reformer and theologian who lived from 1492 to 1570.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, many HILT families emigrated to various parts of the United States and Canada, particularly Pennsylvania and Ontario. One early American bearer of the name was Jacob Hilt, a German immigrant who settled in Pennsylvania in the 1720s.
Another prominent figure with the HILT surname was Friedrich Hilt, a German philosopher and author who lived from 1813 to 1887. He wrote extensively on ethics and political theory.
In the 19th century, the HILT name also appeared in various parts of Europe, including England and France. One notable English bearer of the name was Sir William Hilt, a politician and businessman who served as Mayor of London from 1856 to 1857.
While the HILT surname is not as common as some other German names, it has a rich history that spans several centuries and countries. Its origins in the sword-making trade reflect the cultural and economic significance of metalworking in medieval Germany.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hilt
Among Census respondents with the surname Hilt, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Black (6.7%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Hilt 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 Hilt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.0% · 2,508
- Black or African American6.7% · 194
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 89
- Two or more races3.0% · 87
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 20
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 19
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hilt
Hilt 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
#10,119
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,185
+153 bearers (+5.0%)
Per 100,000 1.08
Rank movement Down 284 places
2020
#10,498
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,917
-268 bearers (-8.4%)
Per 100,000 0.98
Rank movement Down 379 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,835 | 3,032 | 1.12 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,119 | 3,185 | 1.08 | +153 bearers (+5.0%) | Down 284 places |
| 2020 | #10,498 | 2,917 | 0.98 | -268 bearers (-8.4%) | Down 379 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 Hilt 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 | #10,119 | #10,498 | -3.7% |
| Count | 3,185 | 2,917 | -8.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.08 | 0.98 | -9.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hilt bearers went from 3,185 to 2,917 (-8.4% change). The surname moved down 379 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,119 to #10,498.
FAQ
Hilt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hilt?
Name Census estimates that about 3,345 living Americans carry the surname Hilt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 102,468 residents.
How common is Hilt?
Hilt ranks #10,498 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.98 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 2,917 people with the surname Hilt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,345), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.98 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.98 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 Hilt.
Has Hilt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hilt went from 3,185 recorded bearers to 2,917. That is a decrease of 268 (-8.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,119 to #10,498.
What does the Census say about the background of Hilt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hilt, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Black (6.7%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Hilt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.0% (2,508 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hilt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.0%), Black (6.7%), Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Hilt (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 Hilt mean?
A variant of Hield, an occupational surname for a keeper of animals or a person who tended cattle. 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 Hilt (0.98 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 have the last name Hilt?
You can see how many Americans have the surname Hilt on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.