2000
#56,392
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 339
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.13
Very Rare Last name
Hiter
A surname possibly derived from a Germanic word meaning "catcher" or "trapper".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 355 Americans carry the last name Hiter. That puts it at #68,391 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.10 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 965,505 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hiter 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
355
1 in 965,505
Census rank
#68,391
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
310
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 310 bearers of the surname Hiter in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.10 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 68391st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hiter, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.5%. The next largest groups are Black (10.3%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hiter
The surname HITER is of German origin, first recorded in the late 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the German word 'hiter', meaning 'shepherd' or 'herdsman'. The name was initially concentrated in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony.
In the early 17th century, the name HITER appeared in church records from villages near Nuremberg and Leipzig. One of the earliest recorded instances was Johannes HITER, born in 1612 in the village of Dorfprozelten, near Miltenberg.
The HITER name can be traced back to the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), with several soldiers bearing the surname fighting for both Protestant and Catholic forces. Notably, Hans HITER served in the Imperial Army under Albrecht von Wallenstein from 1625 to 1634.
During the 18th century, the HITER name spread across central and eastern Germany. In 1731, a family of HITERs settled in the town of Bamberg, where they established a successful brewing business that lasted for generations.
One of the most prominent individuals with the HITER surname was Friedrich Wilhelm HITER (1789-1856), a German philosopher and writer who published several works on ethics and moral philosophy. His distant cousin, Johann Heinrich HITER (1812-1892), was a celebrated painter known for his landscapes and portraits.
In the 19th century, the HITER name also appeared in Austria and Switzerland, likely due to migration from Germany. Notable examples include the Swiss artist Emil HITER (1825-1891) and the Austrian composer Karl HITER (1838-1918).
As the 20th century approached, the HITER surname continued to be found across German-speaking regions of Europe. One of the last recorded individuals with this name was Max HITER (1901-1987), a German engineer who contributed to the development of early automotive technology.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hiter
Among Census respondents with the surname Hiter, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.5%. The next largest groups are Black (10.3%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Hiter 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 Hiter surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.5% · 262
- Black or African American10.3% · 32
- Two or more races3.2% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino0.6% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hiter
Hiter 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
#64,559
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 308
-31 bearers (-9.1%)
Per 100,000 0.10
Rank movement Down 8,167 places
2020
#68,391
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 310
+2 bearers (+0.6%)
Per 100,000 0.10
Rank movement Down 3,832 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #56,392 | 339 | 0.13 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #64,559 | 308 | 0.10 | -31 bearers (-9.1%) | Down 8,167 places |
| 2020 | #68,391 | 310 | 0.10 | +2 bearers (+0.6%) | Down 3,832 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 Hiter 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 | #64,559 | #68,391 | -5.9% |
| Count | 308 | 310 | 0.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.10 | 0.10 | 3.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hiter bearers went from 308 to 310 (+0.6% change). The surname moved down 3,832 positions in the national ranking, going from #64,559 to #68,391.
FAQ
Hiter surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hiter?
Name Census estimates that about 355 living Americans carry the surname Hiter. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 965,505 residents.
How common is Hiter?
Hiter ranks #68,391 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.10 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 310 people with the surname Hiter. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (355), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.10 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 Hiter.
Has Hiter become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hiter went from 308 recorded bearers to 310. That is an increase of 2 (+0.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #64,559 to #68,391.
What does the Census say about the background of Hiter?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hiter, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.5%. The next largest groups are Black (10.3%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Hiter in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.5% (262 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hiter appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.5%), Black (10.3%), Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Hiter (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 Hiter mean?
A surname possibly derived from a Germanic word meaning "catcher" or "trapper". 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 Hiter (0.10 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 Hiter?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.