# Heller (surname)

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

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 25,373 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,399 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 12,168 people |
| Change since 2000 | 0.0% (25,371 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

* As a German surname, from a coin known as the häller, first minted at Schwäbisch Hall, compare Hall. Also as a Jewish habitational surname for someone from this area. * Also as German surname, variant of Helle, itself from Helle (“hell”). * As a Dutch surname, variant of Helder, from the adjective helder (“clear, bright”). * As an English surname, variant of Hillier. * Also as an English surname, from Middle English heller (“dweller on the hill,”) see Hiller and Huller. * Also as a Jewish surname, from German hell (“bright, light”) or Yiddish העל (hel) of the same meaning.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Heller 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) | 94% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 1.7% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.2% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.2% |
| Two or more races | 1.2% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Heller in the United States, France, Brazil, Hungary and Australia.

## People named Heller

- Joseph Heller, American writer
- Dean Heller, American politician
- Marielle Heller, American director, writer and actress
- André Heller, Austrian artist, author, singer and actor
- Jerry Heller, American businessman (1940–2016)
- Randee Heller, American actress
- Edmund Heller, American zoologist (1875-1939)
- Walter Heller, American economist (1915–1987)
- Amos Arthur Heller, American botanist (1867-1944)
- André Heller, Brazilian volleyball player
- László Heller, (1907–1980) mechanical engineer
- Mike Heller, American drummer

and 1 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Hiller, Haller, Holler, Hillier, Hollier, Hillery, Hillyer, Hollar, Hilario, Hilaire, Hiler, Hyler.

## 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.