2000
#10,719
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,734
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.01
Rare Last name
Heady
Derived from a Middle English nickname for an intelligent or clever person, or from a place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,932 Americans carry the last name Heady. That puts it at #11,725 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.86 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 116,901 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Heady 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Heady with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.9K
1 in 116,901
Census rank
#11,725
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,557 bearers of the surname Heady in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.86 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11725th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Heady, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.6%) and Hispanic (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Heady
The surname "HEADY" is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is thought to be a locational name, derived from a place name that may have contained the Old English word "hēafod," meaning "head." This could suggest that the name initially referred to someone who lived near a prominent hill or the source of a river.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname "HEADY" can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where a certain Robert Heady is mentioned as residing in Oxfordshire. This historical record provides evidence of the name's existence in England during the 13th century.
In the 16th century, the name appears in various parish records and court documents across different counties in England. For instance, in 1542, a John Heady was documented in the Subsidy Rolls of Warwickshire. Additionally, a Richard Heady was recorded in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1586.
The Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landholdings in England compiled in 1086, does not contain any direct references to the surname "HEADY." However, it does mention several place names that may have contributed to the formation of the surname, such as Headborough and Headley.
One notable individual with the surname "HEADY" was Sir Richard Heady, who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He was a Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire and served as a justice of the peace. Another prominent figure was John Heady, a successful merchant and landowner born in 1612 in Worcestershire.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the surname "HEADY" continued to appear in various records across England. For example, William Heady, born in 1678 in Somerset, was a renowned clockmaker and inventor. In the late 18th century, a family of Headys resided in Gloucestershire, with several members serving as clergymen and lawyers.
Another individual of note was Samuel Heady, born in 1756 in Wiltshire. He was a respected scholar and author who wrote extensively on topics ranging from history to theology. Additionally, in the 19th century, a certain Thomas Heady, born in 1822 in Oxfordshire, gained recognition as a pioneering horticulturist and contributed significantly to the development of new plant varieties.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heady
Among Census respondents with the surname Heady, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.6%) and Hispanic (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Heady 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 Heady surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.4% · 2,210
- Two or more races5.6% · 143
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 91
- Black or African American2.9% · 74
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 28
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Heady
Heady 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
#10,964
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,901
+167 bearers (+6.1%)
Per 100,000 0.98
Rank movement Down 245 places
2020
#11,725
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,557
-344 bearers (-11.9%)
Per 100,000 0.86
Rank movement Down 761 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,719 | 2,734 | 1.01 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,964 | 2,901 | 0.98 | +167 bearers (+6.1%) | Down 245 places |
| 2020 | #11,725 | 2,557 | 0.86 | -344 bearers (-11.9%) | Down 761 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 Heady 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 | #10,964 | #11,725 | -6.9% |
| Count | 2,901 | 2,557 | -11.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.98 | 0.86 | -12.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Heady bearers went from 2,901 to 2,557 (-11.9% change). The surname moved down 761 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,964 to #11,725.
FAQ
Heady surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Heady?
Name Census estimates that about 2,932 living Americans carry the surname Heady. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 116,901 residents.
How common is Heady?
Heady ranks #11,725 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.86 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 2,557 people with the surname Heady. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,932), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.86 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.86 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 Heady.
Has Heady become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Heady went from 2,901 recorded bearers to 2,557. That is a decrease of 344 (-11.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,964 to #11,725.
What does the Census say about the background of Heady?
Among Census respondents with the surname Heady, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.6%) and Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Heady in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.4% (2,210 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Heady appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.4%), Two or More Races (5.6%), Hispanic (3.6%). 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 Heady (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 Heady mean?
Derived from a Middle English nickname for an intelligent or clever person, or from a place name. 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 Heady (0.86 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 Heady?
Want to know how many people are called Heady? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.