2000
#74,957
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 240
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.09
Very Rare Last name
Heiling
A surname derived from the German word meaning "holy" or "saint".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 284 Americans carry the last name Heiling. That puts it at #82,069 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,206,881 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Heiling 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
284
1 in 1,206,881
Census rank
#82,069
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
248
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 248 bearers of the surname Heiling in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 82069th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Heiling, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Black (1.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Heiling
The surname Heiling has its origins in Germany, where it first appeared in the late 13th century. It is derived from the German word "heilen," which means "to heal." This suggests that the name was originally an occupational surname, referring to someone who worked as a healer or physician.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Reutlinger Urkundenbuch, a collection of historical documents from the city of Reutlingen, dating back to 1289. Here, a certain "Cunradus dictus Heilinc" is mentioned, indicating that the name was already in use at that time.
In the 14th century, the name is also found in the records of the city of Nuremberg, where a "Conradus Heilinger" is listed as a citizen in 1362. This variation of the spelling, "Heilinger," was quite common in the early days of the name's usage.
The name's association with healing and medicine may also be linked to its appearance in the records of the University of Heidelberg, where a "Johannes Heiling" is listed as a student of medicine in 1456.
Throughout the centuries, the name Heiling has been carried by several notable individuals. One of the earliest was Johannes Heiling (c. 1430-1502), a German physician and astrologer who served as court physician to the Dukes of Bavaria.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Christoph Heiling (1588-1667), a German jurist and legal scholar who served as a professor of law at the University of Ingolstadt.
In the 18th century, Johann Friedrich Heiling (1732-1810) was a notable German Protestant theologian and philosopher who wrote extensively on the relationship between reason and faith.
Moving into the 19th century, Karl Heiling (1836-1904) was a German architect and urban planner who played a significant role in the development of Berlin's infrastructure and public buildings.
Finally, in the 20th century, Walter Heiling (1892-1965) was a German film director and screenwriter who worked in the early days of German cinema, directing several notable silent films in the 1920s.
While the name Heiling has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through immigration. However, its origins and history remain firmly rooted in the German language and culture, reflecting the occupational and medicinal associations of its original meaning.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heiling
Among Census respondents with the surname Heiling, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Black (1.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Heiling 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 Heiling surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.1% · 231
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 10
- Black or African American1.6% · 4
- Two or more races0.8% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Heiling
Heiling 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
#86,645
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 215
-25 bearers (-10.4%)
Per 100,000 0.07
Rank movement Down 11,688 places
2020
#82,069
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 248
+33 bearers (+15.3%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Up 4,576 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #74,957 | 240 | 0.09 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #86,645 | 215 | 0.07 | -25 bearers (-10.4%) | Down 11,688 places |
| 2020 | #82,069 | 248 | 0.08 | +33 bearers (+15.3%) | Up 4,576 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 Heiling 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 | #86,645 | #82,069 | 5.3% |
| Count | 215 | 248 | 15.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.07 | 0.08 | 18.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Heiling bearers went from 215 to 248 (+15.3% change). The surname moved up 4,576 positions in the national ranking, going from #86,645 to #82,069.
FAQ
Heiling surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Heiling?
Name Census estimates that about 284 living Americans carry the surname Heiling. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,206,881 residents.
How common is Heiling?
Heiling ranks #82,069 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.08 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 248 people with the surname Heiling. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (284), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.08 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.08 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Heiling.
Has Heiling become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Heiling went from 215 recorded bearers to 248. That is an increase of 33 (+15.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #86,645 to #82,069.
What does the Census say about the background of Heiling?
Among Census respondents with the surname Heiling, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Black (1.6%). 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 Heiling in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (231 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Heiling appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.1%), Hispanic (4.0%), Black (1.6%). 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 Heiling (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 Heiling mean?
A surname derived from the German word meaning "holy" or "saint". 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 Heiling (0.08 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 Heiling?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.