2000
#11,035
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,643
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.98
Rare Last name
Heinze
Derived from a German personal name composed of the elements hagan, meaning "enclosure" or "hedge", and rīc, meaning "powerful" or "ruler".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,993 Americans carry the last name Heinze. That puts it at #11,529 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.87 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 114,519 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Heinze 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
3.0K
1 in 114,519
Census rank
#11,529
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,610 bearers of the surname Heinze in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.87 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11529th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Heinze, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Heinze
The surname Heinze originated in Germany, with records of its use dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Germanic personal name Heino, which is a diminutive form of the name Heinrich (Henry). The name Heino is thought to have originated from the Germanic words "heim," meaning home, and "ric," meaning ruler or power, suggesting that the name may have been given to someone who was a powerful or influential figure in their community.
One of the earliest known references to the Heinze surname can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of historical documents from the region of Brandenburg, Germany. In this collection, there is a record from the year 1286 mentioning a person named Henrico Heinze.
During the medieval period, the Heinze surname was commonly found in various regions of Germany, including Saxony, Thuringia, and Brandenburg. Some notable individuals bearing this surname from this era include Johannes Heinze, a monk and scholar who lived in the 14th century, and Konrad Heinze, a landowner and local official in the town of Quedlinburg in the 15th century.
As the use of surnames became more widespread in Europe, the Heinze name also appeared in various spellings, such as Heintze, Haintz, and Heyntz, reflecting regional dialects and spelling variations. In some cases, the name may have been derived from place names containing the root "Hein," such as Heiningen or Heinsbach.
One notable figure with the Heinze surname was Johann Gottfried Heinze (1724-1807), a German philosopher and professor at the University of Leipzig. He was a proponent of the Enlightenment movement and made significant contributions to the fields of logic and metaphysics.
Another prominent individual was Karl Heinze (1809-1880), a German historian and author who wrote extensively on the history of the Reformation and the Thirty Years' War. His works were highly regarded and contributed to a better understanding of this significant period in European history.
In the 20th century, Max Heinze (1894-1976) was a German architect and urban planner who was influential in the development of modern architecture in Germany. His designs, which often incorporated elements of the Bauhaus style, can be found in various cities across the country.
Overall, the surname Heinze has a long and rich history in Germany, with its origins dating back to the Middle Ages. While its exact meaning and derivation may be subject to debate, the name has been borne by a diverse range of individuals who have made significant contributions to various fields throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heinze
Among Census respondents with the surname Heinze, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Heinze 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 Heinze surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.6% · 2,392
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 101
- Two or more races2.8% · 73
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 26
- Black or African American0.4% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Heinze
Heinze 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
#11,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,629
-14 bearers (-0.5%)
Per 100,000 0.89
Rank movement Down 872 places
2020
#11,529
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,610
-19 bearers (-0.7%)
Per 100,000 0.87
Rank movement Up 378 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,035 | 2,643 | 0.98 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,907 | 2,629 | 0.89 | -14 bearers (-0.5%) | Down 872 places |
| 2020 | #11,529 | 2,610 | 0.87 | -19 bearers (-0.7%) | Up 378 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 Heinze 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 | #11,907 | #11,529 | 3.2% |
| Count | 2,629 | 2,610 | -0.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.89 | 0.87 | -1.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Heinze bearers went from 2,629 to 2,610 (-0.7% change). The surname moved up 378 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,907 to #11,529.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Heinze
FAQ
Heinze surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Heinze?
Name Census estimates that about 2,993 living Americans carry the surname Heinze. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 114,519 residents.
How common is Heinze?
Heinze ranks #11,529 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.87 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 2,610 people with the surname Heinze. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,993), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.87 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.87 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 Heinze.
Has Heinze become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Heinze went from 2,629 recorded bearers to 2,610. That is a decrease of 19 (-0.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #11,907 to #11,529.
What does the Census say about the background of Heinze?
Among Census respondents with the surname Heinze, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Heinze in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.6% (2,392 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Heinze appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.6%), Hispanic (3.9%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Heinze (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 Heinze mean?
Derived from a German personal name composed of the elements hagan, meaning "enclosure" or "hedge", and rīc, meaning "powerful" or "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 Heinze (0.87 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 Heinze?
See how many Americans have the surname Heinze on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.