2000
#10,289
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,870
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.06
Rare Last name
Hiser
Derived from the German surname Heiser, referring to someone who lived in a house on a hill or mountain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,096 Americans carry the last name Hiser. That puts it at #11,204 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.90 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 110,709 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hiser 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
3.1K
1 in 110,709
Census rank
#11,204
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,700 bearers of the surname Hiser in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.90 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11204th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hiser, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hiser
The surname HISER is believed to have originated in Germany, likely in the late medieval period around the 14th or 15th century. It is thought to have derived from the Old German word "hiser," which referred to a type of hoarse or husky voice. This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a descriptive nickname to someone with a distinctive voice quality.
Some of the earliest known references to the HISER surname can be found in historical records from various regions of Germany, such as church registers and local census records. One notable example is the mention of a Johannes Hiser in a document from the town of Freiburg im Breisgau, dated 1487.
As the name spread across different German-speaking areas, various spelling variations emerged, including Hiser, Hieser, and Hiesser. These variations likely arose due to regional dialects and differences in record-keeping practices.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the HISER surname was Hans Hiser, a merchant who lived in the city of Nuremberg in the late 15th century. Another notable figure was Johann Hiser, a Lutheran theologian and scholar who was born in Saxony in 1578 and made significant contributions to biblical exegesis.
In the 17th century, the HISER name appeared in the records of several German communities, such as the town of Biberach an der Riss, where a family of Hisers was documented as early as 1632. During this period, the name also began to spread beyond Germany, with some Hiser families immigrating to other parts of Europe and eventually to the Americas.
One of the most prominent individuals with the HISER surname was Johann Friedrich Hiser, a German-born composer and musician who lived from 1721 to 1784. He is particularly known for his contribution to church music and his role as the Kapellmeister (music director) at the court of the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg.
Another notable figure was Wilhelm Hiser, a German philosopher and academic who was born in 1838 and made significant contributions to the field of ethics and moral philosophy. His works explored the relationship between ethics and religion, and he was widely respected for his scholarly writings.
In the 19th century, the HISER surname continued to be found across various regions of Germany, as well as in communities of German immigrants in other countries. One example is the town of New Braunfels, Texas, which was founded by German immigrants in 1845 and had several families with the HISER name among its early settlers.
Throughout its history, the HISER surname has been associated with individuals from various professions and walks of life, including merchants, scholars, musicians, and philosophers. While the name may have originated as a descriptive nickname, it has since become a distinctive and enduring surname with a rich cultural heritage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hiser
Among Census respondents with the surname Hiser, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Hiser 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 Hiser surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.0% · 2,431
- Two or more races4.3% · 115
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 86
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 27
- Black or African American0.8% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 19
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hiser
Hiser 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
#10,440
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,081
+211 bearers (+7.4%)
Per 100,000 1.04
Rank movement Down 151 places
2020
#11,204
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,700
-381 bearers (-12.4%)
Per 100,000 0.90
Rank movement Down 764 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,289 | 2,870 | 1.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,440 | 3,081 | 1.04 | +211 bearers (+7.4%) | Down 151 places |
| 2020 | #11,204 | 2,700 | 0.90 | -381 bearers (-12.4%) | Down 764 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 Hiser 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 | #10,440 | #11,204 | -7.3% |
| Count | 3,081 | 2,700 | -12.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.04 | 0.90 | -13.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hiser bearers went from 3,081 to 2,700 (-12.4% change). The surname moved down 764 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,440 to #11,204.
FAQ
Hiser surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hiser?
Name Census estimates that about 3,096 living Americans carry the surname Hiser. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 110,709 residents.
How common is Hiser?
Hiser ranks #11,204 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.90 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 2,700 people with the surname Hiser. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,096), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.9 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.90 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 Hiser.
Has Hiser become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hiser went from 3,081 recorded bearers to 2,700. That is a decrease of 381 (-12.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,440 to #11,204.
What does the Census say about the background of Hiser?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hiser, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Hiser in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.0% (2,431 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hiser appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.0%), Two or More Races (4.3%), Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Hiser (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 Hiser mean?
Derived from the German surname Heiser, referring to someone who lived in a house on a hill or mountain. 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 Hiser (0.90 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 are called Hiser?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Hiser, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.