# Heather (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/heather/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Middle English.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 1,315 |
| US rank (2010) | 20,239 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 234,787 people |
| Change since 2000 | -1.7% (1,338 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈhɛðɚ/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From heather; the given name is one of the plant names taken up in the 19th century. The surname is habitational, also meaning someone living on a heath.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Heather in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 91% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 2.1% |
| Two or more races | 1.9% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Heather in the United States.

## People named Heather

- Jean Heather, American actress (1921–1995)

## Similar surnames

Huether, Hatter, Heater, Heeter, Hayter, Hyder, Haider, Hutter, Heider, Hodder, Hader.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.