Find out how popular the last name Hiter is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Hiter.

Hiter, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Hiter surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hiter in America

Hiter is the 64559th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hiter surname appeared 308 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Hiter.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hiter to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Hiter

The surname HITER is of German origin, first recorded in the late 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the German word 'hiter', meaning 'shepherd' or 'herdsman'. The name was initially concentrated in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony.

In the early 17th century, the name HITER appeared in church records from villages near Nuremberg and Leipzig. One of the earliest recorded instances was Johannes HITER, born in 1612 in the village of Dorfprozelten, near Miltenberg.

The HITER name can be traced back to the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), with several soldiers bearing the surname fighting for both Protestant and Catholic forces. Notably, Hans HITER served in the Imperial Army under Albrecht von Wallenstein from 1625 to 1634.

During the 18th century, the HITER name spread across central and eastern Germany. In 1731, a family of HITERs settled in the town of Bamberg, where they established a successful brewing business that lasted for generations.

One of the most prominent individuals with the HITER surname was Friedrich Wilhelm HITER (1789-1856), a German philosopher and writer who published several works on ethics and moral philosophy. His distant cousin, Johann Heinrich HITER (1812-1892), was a celebrated painter known for his landscapes and portraits.

In the 19th century, the HITER name also appeared in Austria and Switzerland, likely due to migration from Germany. Notable examples include the Swiss artist Emil HITER (1825-1891) and the Austrian composer Karl HITER (1838-1918).

As the 20th century approached, the HITER surname continued to be found across German-speaking regions of Europe. One of the last recorded individuals with this name was Max HITER (1901-1987), a German engineer who contributed to the development of early automotive technology.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hiter

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Hiter.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Hiter was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Hiter has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Hiter was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Hiter, please contact us.

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