2000
#39,824
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 519
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.19
Very Rare Last name
Hillenburg
An English surname derived from a place name, meaning someone who lived on or near a hill.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 584 Americans carry the last name Hillenburg. That puts it at #45,303 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.17 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 586,908 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hillenburg 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
584
1 in 586,908
Census rank
#45,303
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
509
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 509 bearers of the surname Hillenburg in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.17 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 45303rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hillenburg, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hillenburg
The surname Hillenburg originated in Germany, likely in the late medieval period around the 13th or 14th century. It is derived from the German words "Hügel" meaning "hill" and "Burg" meaning "castle" or "fortified town." This suggests that the name originally referred to someone who lived near or in a hilltop castle or fortified settlement.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Bavarian town of Hilpoltstein, where a family bearing the name Hillenberch is mentioned in records dating back to the early 1400s. It is possible that this was an early variation of the spelling.
In the 16th century, the name appears in various church records and tax rolls across southern Germany, with spellings such as Hillenberger, Hillenburger, and Hillenborg. This indicates that the name had spread to different regions and undergone slight variations in spelling.
A notable figure bearing the name Hillenburg was Johannes Hillenburg, a Lutheran theologian and scholar who lived from 1525 to 1592. He was born in the town of Hilpoltstein and went on to become a respected academic and author of several religious texts.
Another prominent individual was Anna Hillenburg, a German-born immigrant to the American colonies in the late 17th century. She settled in Pennsylvania and is recorded as one of the earliest members of the Hillenburg family in North America.
In the 19th century, a man named Wilhelm Hillenburg (1822-1891) gained some renown as a successful merchant and landowner in the city of Hamburg, Germany.
Closer to the present day, Hans Hillenburg (1892-1972) was a German architect who designed several notable buildings in Berlin during the first half of the 20th century.
Finally, one cannot overlook the American artist and animator Stephen Hillenburg (1961-2018), the creator of the popular Nickelodeon series SpongeBob SquarePants. While not of direct German descent, his surname likely traces back to the same etymological roots.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hillenburg
Among Census respondents with the surname Hillenburg, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Hillenburg 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 Hillenburg surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.0% · 463
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 22
- Two or more races3.3% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 3
- Black or African American0.4% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hillenburg
Hillenburg 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
#39,607
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 555
+36 bearers (+6.9%)
Per 100,000 0.19
Rank movement Up 217 places
2020
#45,303
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 509
-46 bearers (-8.3%)
Per 100,000 0.17
Rank movement Down 5,696 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #39,824 | 519 | 0.19 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #39,607 | 555 | 0.19 | +36 bearers (+6.9%) | Up 217 places |
| 2020 | #45,303 | 509 | 0.17 | -46 bearers (-8.3%) | Down 5,696 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 Hillenburg 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 | #39,607 | #45,303 | -14.4% |
| Count | 555 | 509 | -8.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.19 | 0.17 | -10.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hillenburg bearers went from 555 to 509 (-8.3% change). The surname moved down 5,696 positions in the national ranking, going from #39,607 to #45,303.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hillenburg
FAQ
Hillenburg surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hillenburg?
Name Census estimates that about 584 living Americans carry the surname Hillenburg. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 586,908 residents.
How common is Hillenburg?
Hillenburg ranks #45,303 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.17 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 509 people with the surname Hillenburg. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (584), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.17 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.17 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 Hillenburg.
Has Hillenburg become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hillenburg went from 555 recorded bearers to 509. That is a decrease of 46 (-8.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #39,607 to #45,303.
What does the Census say about the background of Hillenburg?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hillenburg, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Hillenburg in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.0% (463 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hillenburg appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.0%), Hispanic (4.3%), Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Hillenburg (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 Hillenburg mean?
An English surname derived from a place name, meaning someone who lived on or near a hill. 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 Hillenburg (0.17 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 share the surname Hillenburg?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.