2000
#4,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,242
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.68
Rare Last name
Hintz
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname derived from a pet form of Heinrich, or referring to a person from Heinitz.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,964 Americans carry the last name Hintz. That puts it at #4,923 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.32 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 43,038 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hintz 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
8.0K
1 in 43,038
Census rank
#4,923
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,945 bearers of the surname Hintz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.32 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4923rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hintz, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hintz
The surname Hintz is of German origin, with roots tracing back to the late medieval period. It is believed to have originated in the region of Lower Saxony, particularly in the areas around Hanover and Brunswick. The name is derived from the Low German word "hinte," meaning a "hind" or female red deer.
Records indicate that the earliest known bearers of the name were likely hunters or foresters who lived in the densely forested areas of northern Germany. The name may have been initially used as a descriptive nickname for someone who excelled at hunting deer or lived near an area known for its deer population.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the "Bremisches Urkundenbuch," a collection of historical documents from the city of Bremen, dating back to the 13th century. In this document, a man named "Johannes Hinten" is mentioned, which is likely an earlier spelling variation of the surname.
In the 16th century, the name is found in various church records and tax rolls from the Hanover region. Notable individuals from this period include Hans Hintz, a merchant from Brunswick who lived in the mid-1500s, and Johanna Hintz, a landowner from the village of Kirchrode, who was born around 1570.
As the name spread across Germany and into neighboring regions, it took on various spellings, such as Hinze, Hintze, and Hintzen. One notable bearer of the name was Johann Hinrich Hintze, a German jurist and statesman who served as the Chancellor of Germany for a brief period in 1917-1918.
In the 19th century, the name gained prominence with the birth of Gregor Hintz (1810-1890), a renowned German theologian and philosopher who taught at the University of Halle. Another notable figure was Friedrich Hintz (1864-1923), a German artist and illustrator known for his book illustrations and landscape paintings.
Other individuals of historical significance include Theodor Hintz (1870-1954), a German architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Berlin and Hamburg, and Erich Hintz (1892-1974), a German World War I fighter pilot and recipient of the prestigious Pour le Mérite military honor.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hintz
Among Census respondents with the surname Hintz, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Hintz 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 Hintz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.3% · 6,480
- Two or more races2.9% · 199
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 170
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 51
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 29
- Black or African American0.2% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hintz
Hintz 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
#4,776
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,406
+164 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 2.51
Rank movement Down 265 places
2020
#4,923
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,945
-461 bearers (-6.2%)
Per 100,000 2.32
Rank movement Down 147 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,511 | 7,242 | 2.68 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,776 | 7,406 | 2.51 | +164 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 265 places |
| 2020 | #4,923 | 6,945 | 2.32 | -461 bearers (-6.2%) | Down 147 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 Hintz 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 | #4,776 | #4,923 | -3.1% |
| Count | 7,406 | 6,945 | -6.2% |
| Per 100K | 2.51 | 2.32 | -7.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hintz bearers went from 7,406 to 6,945 (-6.2% change). The surname moved down 147 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,776 to #4,923.
FAQ
Hintz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hintz?
Name Census estimates that about 7,964 living Americans carry the surname Hintz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 43,038 residents.
How common is Hintz?
Hintz ranks #4,923 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.32 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,945 people with the surname Hintz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,964), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.32 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.32 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Hintz.
Has Hintz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hintz went from 7,406 recorded bearers to 6,945. That is a decrease of 461 (-6.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,776 to #4,923.
What does the Census say about the background of Hintz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hintz, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Hintz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (6,480 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hintz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.3%), Two or More Races (2.9%), Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Hintz (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 Hintz mean?
A German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) surname derived from a pet form of Heinrich, or referring to a person from Heinitz. 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 Hintz (2.32 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 Hintz?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Hintz, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.