2000
#14,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,968
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.73
Rare Last name
Hinze
Derived from a German place name or from a short form of Heinrich, meaning "home ruler."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,227 Americans carry the last name Hinze. That puts it at #14,685 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.65 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 153,909 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hinze 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
2.2K
1 in 153,909
Census rank
#14,685
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,942 bearers of the surname Hinze in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.65 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14685th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hinze, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hinze
The surname Hinze has its origins in Germany, tracing back several centuries to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the Germanic personal name "Hindo" or "Hindo," which was a short form of various compound names beginning with "hind" or "hint," meaning "hind" or "deer."
One of the earliest known records of the name Hinze can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval charters and documents from Brandenburg, where a Hinrico Hinzen was mentioned in a document dated 1375. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by the 14th century.
The name Hinze is also closely associated with the town of Hinzweiler, located in the Rhineland-Palatinate region of Germany. It is believed that the town's name, which dates back to the 8th century, may have influenced the development of the surname Hinze in that area.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the surname Hinze. One of the earliest was Johann Hinze (c. 1490-1554), a German Protestant theologian and reformer who played a significant role in the Reformation movement in Lübeck.
Another prominent figure was Johann Hinrich Hinze (1701-1780), a German architect and builder who was responsible for the construction of several notable buildings in Hamburg, including the St. Michaelis Church and the Patriotische Gesellschaft building.
In the 19th century, Carl Gustav Hinze (1815-1883) was a German politician and jurist who served as the Minister of Justice for Prussia from 1867 to 1879.
Other notable individuals with the surname Hinze include:
1. Erich Hinze (1903-1965), a German actor and film director active in the early to mid-20th century.
2. Wilhelm Hinze (1834-1898), a German painter known for his landscapes and genre scenes.
3. Heinrich Hinze (1901-1973), a German politician and member of the Nazi Party during World War II.
4. Albert Hinze (1890-1955), a German engineer and inventor who made significant contributions to the development of aircraft engines.
5. Karl Hinze (1884-1964), a German businessman and industrialist who founded the Hinze Armaturen GmbH, a leading manufacturer of valves and fittings.
While the surname Hinze has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through migration and immigration patterns over the past few centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hinze
Among Census respondents with the surname Hinze, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Hinze 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 Hinze surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.5% · 1,776
- Two or more races3.7% · 71
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 53
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 15
- Black or African American0.6% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hinze
Hinze 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
#14,478
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,062
+94 bearers (+4.8%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Down 429 places
2020
#14,685
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,942
-120 bearers (-5.8%)
Per 100,000 0.65
Rank movement Down 207 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,049 | 1,968 | 0.73 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,478 | 2,062 | 0.70 | +94 bearers (+4.8%) | Down 429 places |
| 2020 | #14,685 | 1,942 | 0.65 | -120 bearers (-5.8%) | Down 207 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 Hinze 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 | #14,478 | #14,685 | -1.4% |
| Count | 2,062 | 1,942 | -5.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.70 | 0.65 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hinze bearers went from 2,062 to 1,942 (-5.8% change). The surname moved down 207 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,478 to #14,685.
FAQ
Hinze surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hinze?
Name Census estimates that about 2,227 living Americans carry the surname Hinze. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 153,909 residents.
How common is Hinze?
Hinze ranks #14,685 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.65 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 1,942 people with the surname Hinze. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,227), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.65 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.65 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 Hinze.
Has Hinze become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hinze went from 2,062 recorded bearers to 1,942. That is a decrease of 120 (-5.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,478 to #14,685.
What does the Census say about the background of Hinze?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hinze, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Hinze in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (1,776 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hinze appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.5%), Two or More Races (3.7%), Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Hinze (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 Hinze mean?
Derived from a German place name or from a short form of Heinrich, meaning "home ruler." 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 Hinze (0.65 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 surname Hinze?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.