2000
#5,785
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,476
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.03
Rare Last name
Heisler
A German occupational surname denoting a person who manufactured or repaired wooden roofing tiles or shingles.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,879 Americans carry the last name Heisler. That puts it at #6,377 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.72 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 58,301 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Heisler 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
5.9K
1 in 58,301
Census rank
#6,377
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,127 bearers of the surname Heisler in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.72 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6377th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Heisler, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Heisler
The surname Heisler is of German origin, with its roots traced back to the Middle Ages. The name is derived from the German word "heisl," which means a small house or cottage. It is believed that the name was initially used as a descriptive term for someone who lived in a modest dwelling or a person responsible for maintaining or overseeing such dwellings.
In the early records, the name appeared with various spellings, including Heisler, Heissler, Heysler, and Heizler. These variations were common due to the lack of standardized spelling conventions at the time. The earliest documented instances of the name can be found in medieval German registers and charters from the 13th and 14th centuries.
One notable historical reference to the name Heisler is in the Annals of Quedlinburg, a medieval chronicle of the Quedlinburg Abbey in Saxony, Germany. The annals mention a person named Heinrich Heisler, who lived in the late 13th century and was involved in a dispute over land ownership.
In the 16th century, the surname Heisler gained prominence with the rise of the Heisler family in the region of Franconia, located in present-day Bavaria, Germany. Johann Heisler (1492-1567), a prominent merchant and landowner, was one of the earliest documented members of this influential family.
Another notable figure bearing the Heisler name was Hans Heisler (1579-1643), a German military officer who served during the Thirty Years' War. He distinguished himself in several battles and was granted noble status for his contributions.
In the 18th century, the Heisler family established itself in the region of Swabia, in southwestern Germany. Johann Michael Heisler (1716-1788), a respected professor of theology at the University of Tübingen, was a prominent figure from this era.
As the Heisler family spread across Germany and beyond, the name was often associated with various place names and their older spellings. For example, the town of Heislingen in Lower Saxony, Germany, was once known as Heisleringehausen, potentially indicating a connection to the Heisler surname.
Other notable individuals with the Heisler surname include Friedrich Heisler (1803-1879), a German architect who designed several significant buildings in Munich, and Käthe Heisler (1888-1965), a German artist and illustrator known for her children's book illustrations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Heisler
Among Census respondents with the surname Heisler, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Heisler 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 Heisler surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.6% · 4,748
- Two or more races3.0% · 155
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 131
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 53
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 29
- Black or African American0.2% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Heisler
Heisler 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
#6,176
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,539
+63 bearers (+1.2%)
Per 100,000 1.88
Rank movement Down 391 places
2020
#6,377
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,127
-412 bearers (-7.4%)
Per 100,000 1.72
Rank movement Down 201 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,785 | 5,476 | 2.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,176 | 5,539 | 1.88 | +63 bearers (+1.2%) | Down 391 places |
| 2020 | #6,377 | 5,127 | 1.72 | -412 bearers (-7.4%) | Down 201 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 Heisler 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 | #6,176 | #6,377 | -3.3% |
| Count | 5,539 | 5,127 | -7.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.88 | 1.72 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Heisler bearers went from 5,539 to 5,127 (-7.4% change). The surname moved down 201 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,176 to #6,377.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Heisler
FAQ
Heisler surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Heisler?
Name Census estimates that about 5,879 living Americans carry the surname Heisler. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 58,301 residents.
How common is Heisler?
Heisler ranks #6,377 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.72 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,127 people with the surname Heisler. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,879), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.72 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.72 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Heisler.
Has Heisler become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Heisler went from 5,539 recorded bearers to 5,127. That is a decrease of 412 (-7.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,176 to #6,377.
What does the Census say about the background of Heisler?
Among Census respondents with the surname Heisler, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.0%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Heisler in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.6% (4,748 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Heisler appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.6%), Two or More Races (3.0%), Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Heisler (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 Heisler mean?
A German occupational surname denoting a person who manufactured or repaired wooden roofing tiles or shingles. 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 Heisler (1.72 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 Americans have the surname Heisler?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.